


Baby on Board

by asroarke



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Flynn's dad knowledge comes in clutch, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Lucy just needs a nap, Mutual Pining, POV Flynn, Pining, Post 2x07, Rufus and Flynn brotp, Rufus went to MIT yet cannot build a crib to save his life, Sharing a Bed, denise does not get paid enough for this nonsense, sometimes a family is the group of time travelers that brought you back to their bunker, that time the time team brought a baby back from the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-06 01:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asroarke/pseuds/asroarke
Summary: “Okay, so we are coming back from the 20’s with a baby. Agent Christopher will lose it,” Rufus said with a shrug, and a smirk formed on Flynn’s face.“She survived you two bringing a president to the present, so I think she’ll handle this fine,” Flynn teased.The baby fic no one asked for where Lucy rescued a baby from a burning building, and the Time Team has no choice but to bring him to the present with them.





	1. We Have a Baby Now?

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in this fandom. Be gentle, y'all.

“Are you sure the rocket will work?” Flynn confirmed as they casually yet briskly moved away from the launch. He glanced over his shoulder again, making sure no one was following them. It wasn’t like Rittenhouse was lurking around waiting for them. Flynn already killed the sleeper and Emma was running from Wyatt and Lucy.

“Positive,” Rufus huffed. “I think.” Flynn stopped walking and glared at Rufus. “Okay, positive. I definitely fixed it.”

“No pressure, but if you’re wrong, Goddard and the rest of his team will die…” Flynn muttered before trailing off. It wasn’t like Rufus didn’t know what was at stake. Lucy identified Robert Goddard as the Rittenhouse target. Without him there would be no liquid fuel rockets or vital developments in controls. Rufus didn’t need to hear what would happen if Rittenhouse killed the man responsible for the Space Age.

“I know. No Goddard equals no rockets equals no NASA equals a terrifying change to history. I went to MIT. I know how to do that math,” Rufus rambled. “But I fixed it, so that’s not going to happen. Goddard and his team will be fine. I’m more worried about our team.”

His stomach dropped when Rufus reminded him. It had been more than two hours since they all split up. Someone had to help Rufus get to the rocket and keep anyone from finding him meddling with it. And he knew as soon as Wyatt took off running that it had to be Flynn.

Flynn used to be better at working in teams. But back then, he had teams that actually trusted him and their work never seemed to be so high stake. Now, he was chasing after Rittenhouse who seemed dead set on derailing history at every turn. Rufus was only now starting to trust him. And that trust was more built on the knowledge that, according to Jiya’s premonitions, Flynn isn’t who kills him. Wyatt would never trust him. Though that might have more to do with his lingering suspicions after seeing Lucy exit Flynn’s room, or at least that’s what Flynn gathers from Wyatt’s glares and snide remarks.

And then there was Lucy. He wanted to believe she trusted him. Given the way she had opened up to him, he would think she did. He hoped she did. God knows he trusted her. But working with Lucy… well, it was proving to be a challenge. They worked well together, of course. Flynn’s problem was he found himself always worried about her, a feeling he wasn’t used to having. At least not in this context. It unsettled his nerves whenever Lucy talked to a local asking for help, paranoid she was walking right into a sleeper agent’s line of fire. He tensed when the team split and he went hours without knowing they were okay. Much like today, especially given that Lucy decided to run alongside Wyatt to chase down Emma… who wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

Rufus and Flynn fell into silence as they picked up the pace toward the Lifeboat. Hopefully, Wyatt and Lucy had already dealt with Emma and were waiting for them by the Lifeboat. But as soon as Rufus said, “Is that smoke?” Flynn knew it couldn’t have been that easy. When had any mission been easy? The two of them started running as soon as they were out of sight, Flynn’s gun already in hand.

His mind was racing when they found the rapidly deteriorating house still aflame. Emma had to have started the fire, probably with Wyatt and Lucy still inside the house. “Flynn, stop,” Rufus said, grabbing him by the arm to pull him back. Flynn hadn’t even realized he started to move toward the house. “Parts of the second floor have already collapsed. If they’re in there…” Flynn whipped his head around to look at Rufus’ panicked eyes. No, they weren’t in there. They couldn’t be. Because if they were…

“Rufus? Flynn?” he heard Wyatt’s voice shout out, and he let out a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding.

His eyes flickered up to see Wyatt breathlessly making his way toward them. His clothes were tattered, torn in some places. A large bruise started to form along his cheek. Flynn’s eyes scanned the area for any sign of Lucy, panic surging through his chest. He couldn’t see her. She should be with Wyatt. “What happened?” Rufus asked.

“Where is Lucy?” Flynn demanded. His mind was already jumping to the worst, fearing she didn’t make it out of the house or that Emma had her now.

“She’s okay,” Wyatt huffed before gesturing for them to follow him. For a moment, Flynn closed his eyes, forcing himself to take a deep breath. She was okay. They both were. When Wyatt’s back turned, he spoke again, “Emma got away from us. We cut her off from making it back to the Mothership, and then she ducked into this house.”

“And instead of waiting for us to help you surround her, you dove right in?” Flynn huffed, and Wyatt whipped his head around.

“I had no idea when the two of you were going to get back here. And there were civilians in that house with Emma,” Wyatt hissed, and Flynn ducked his head.

“So, one thing led to another and Emma burned the house down?” Rufus asked, falling in step with Wyatt as Flynn glanced back at the burning house. That was someone’s home. Several innocent people were inside the house when it burned down. People whose home wasn’t supposed to burn down today.

“She started the fire to keep us from following her out the back,” Wyatt explained. “We could have made it out the other way and caught up to her but—”

“There were civilians in that house,” Flynn realized, freezing in place. “Did you get them out?”

Wyatt’s shoulders tensed as he froze. After a beat, he turned around to look at Flynn. The look in his eye was one he was all too familiar with. “We got one of them out,” he said. “The second story collapsed before I could get to the parents, but luckily Lucy got the baby out.” _The baby_. That word echoed around in Flynn’s head. A a child from the 1920’s became an orphan because Emma was trying to get away.

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘baby?’” Rufus asked. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Flynn spotted Lucy a hundred yards away. She was sitting up against a tree with a small bundle in her arms. Flynn didn’t listen to whatever response Wyatt had and instead started jogging over to Lucy.

She didn’t look much better than Wyatt did after coming out of that fire. The sleeve of her dress had been torn, revealing a cut on her shoulder that needed to get looked at. Her hair had fallen, and she was a bit paler than usual. “Lucy,” he breathed as he finally approached her. Her head snapped up to look at him for a moment, her panicked eyes tearful. The brief moment was broken by the infant’s cries, and Lucy redirected her attention back to the child.

His eyes drifted down to the child in her arms, terrified something happened to it too. The baby looked completely unharmed, shielded from the horrors its family met. “His parents are dead,” Lucy whispered as Flynn crouched down beside her. Her voice was a bit shaky. Hesitantly, he reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder. He waited for her to jerk away, but she didn’t.

“I know,” he said. “You did what you could.” She bit down on her lip but didn’t look back up at Flynn. He knew his words couldn’t fix what happened. Nothing could. Lucy knew this wasn’t how history was supposed to go, and now this child’s parents were gone. The father in Flynn’s heart broke as he looked down at the baby, knowing he would never even know his parents. “Emma did this, not you.”

“It doesn’t matter who did it. It’s done,” she said as the tears streamed down her cheeks. The child was still crying so loud it echoed off the trees around them. “We couldn’t save his parents or his home. We don’t know his name or if he had any other family. And I can’t even get him to stop crying.”

She finally looked up at him, her tearful eyes blinking at him as if pleading for him to fix it. Flynn swallowed as he thought it over. If they didn’t know this child’s name or the name of his parents, there was no way they could find a next of kin. And it’s not like dropping this child off at a 1926 orphanage was an option. This boy could have had a long, happy life here with his parents. But it was taken from him because of his home’s proximity to the Mothership. There was nothing Flynn could say or do to change that.

“May I?” he asked, gesturing for her to hand the baby over to him. He couldn’t go back and stop this from ever happening. He couldn’t give Lucy the answers she wanted. But he could get the baby to stop crying. He could do that for her.

Carefully, Lucy placed the infant into his arms. “Watch his head,” she reminded, and he chuckled.

“I was a father, remember?” he whispered. “I know how to hold a baby, Lucy.”

“Right,” she murmured. He glanced back up at her, offering her a soft smile to reassure her.

He relaxed his back against the tree as he adjusted the child in his arms. After a few minutes of trying to soothe the child, Flynn realized the last baby he had held was his own. He tried to find another way to occupy his mind before he started imagining Iris’ eyes beaming up at him.

“So, now what? We have a baby now?” Rufus said, jerking Flynn out of his thoughts.

“Well, we can’t leave him here,” Wyatt huffed. Lucy shushed them both as she gestured to the baby in Flynn’s arms who was finally starting to calm down. “It is 1926,” Wyatt continued in a hushed tone. “It’s not like we can call up Child Services and then take off.”

“Okay, but we could ask around town to find the child’s closest family,” Rufus suggested.

“Half that town saw Emma in a shoot out with us. The other half thinks we were involved in messing with the rocket. So, I doubt we would be very successful,” Flynn reminded.

“Also, we don’t have time. We need to get back to the present in case Emma jumps again,” Wyatt said.

“Well, maybe—”

“Rufus,” Lucy finally spoke, and Flynn finally tore his eyes away from the child to look up at her. “It’s 1926 and this child has no parents, no name, nothing. We have no way of finding his family right now. The only other place this child could go is to an orphanage. While Massachusetts doesn’t have the worst ones in the country at the time, they’re still horrendous.”

“Not to mention that the Great Depression is going to hit in three years. Can’t imagine that will improve conditions,” Flynn added in.

“If we leave him here now, he won’t live long,” Lucy explained. Her eyes looked over to Flynn, almost as if she were asking for his support. Flynn bit down on his lip, realizing what Lucy was suggesting. It’s not like it was the first time they brought someone from the past back. Granted, from what Flynn heard, chasing JFK around wasn’t exactly easy… but everything turned out more or less okay. And it wasn’t like Flynn could in good conscience leave a defenseless child here. Lucy was right. This was the best possible solution.

He looked up to see Wyatt about to argue. “This baby should see a proper doctor,” Flynn spoke before Wyatt could say anything. “After a fire like that, it would be better to get a doctor that wasn’t from 1926 to make sure he’s okay. So, let’s bring him back with us, make sure he’s healthy, and discuss the rest with Agent Christopher.”

“Okay, so we are coming back from the 20’s with a baby. Agent Christopher will lose it,” Rufus said with a shrug, and a smirk formed on Flynn’s face.

“She survived you two bringing a president to the present, so I think she’ll handle this fine,” Flynn teased.

Wyatt crossed over toward Lucy, extending his hand to help her stand up. She very pointedly did not take his help and instead stumbled to stand up on her own. It wasn’t as bad as it had been with the two of them back in 1919, but the tension was still there. Wyatt kept trying to get closer and closer to Lucy, and Lucy kept pulling away to protect her own broken heart. At least, that is how Lucy described it the night she showed up to his room, though not in as many words.

“Here,” Lucy said, gesturing for Flynn to hand the child back to her so he could stand up. Carefully, he passed the baby back to her, cradling his head until Lucy got him situated.

The four of them made their way back to the Lifeboat in relative silence. It was interrupted only by logistics questions Rufus had about the baby… wondering where he would sleep, who would take care of him, if the bunker was even a safe place for a baby.

Lucy seemed too tired to keep answering him, so Flynn and Wyatt took turns fielding his questions. Their answers usually resulted in a “Agent Christopher will figure it out” response. Flynn held the baby while Lucy got herself into her seat.

“Are you doing okay?” Flynn asked Lucy as she buckled her seatbelt. She looked like hell, which was to be expected since she was in a literal fire today and could have died. Flynn’s chest was still tight from thinking about how close she came to dying today.

“Yeah,” she muttered, gesturing for him to hand the baby back so he could get his seatbelt on.

“Guess I have to install a car seat in the Lifeboat,” Rufus joked, and Wyatt groaned. Flynn narrowed his eyes at Lucy as he got the baby back in her arms. There weren’t many times where Flynn caught Lucy looking genuinely scared. Salem jumps to mind, as does the day he killed David Rittenhouse. It only came out in the darkest, most terrifying moments.

Yet, he is seeing it now as she looks down at the baby she saved, biting her bottom lip. Lucy was terrified.

When Wyatt turned to close the door, Flynn leaned forward, resting his hand over Lucy’s for a second. Her eyes flickered up to meet his, confused about why he was reaching for her. “You’re really good with him,” he whispered. “You’re doing fine.”

She blinked a few times as he leaned back in his seat again, fearful he had overstepped. Then, she let out a breath and her shoulders relaxed a bit. “Rufus, let’s get going,” Wyatt said as he snapped his seatbelt on.

“Thank you,” Lucy mouthed to him, her lips almost curving up into a smile.

“We should get one of those ‘baby on board’ stickers for the Lifeboat,” Rufus chuckled as he started flipping switches. Flynn nearly rolled his eyes at the joke, but then Lucy burst out laughing. “This is why Lucy is my favorite person in this Lifeboat,” Rufus teased. And Flynn felt a small smile tugging at his lips as he watched Lucy try to quiet her own laughter.


	2. This Isn't a Lego Set

“Oh my God!” Connor said before covering his mouth with his hand. “Is that a—”

“You brought a baby into this bunker?” Agent Christopher snapped before Rufus gestured for her to keep her voice down. Lucy glanced up at Flynn, a nervous expression flickering across her face.

“The bigger concern is that they brought a baby back from the past,” Connor interrupted, not heeding Rufus’ warning about keeping his voice down. The baby that Lucy had just settled down erupted into tears again. Lucy shot a murderous glare at Connor Mason, who immediately ducked his head in shame.

“Lucy,” Flynn murmured, gesturing for her to hand the baby over to him. She let out a sigh of relief as she transferred him into his arms, wincing a bit in pain. She needed to get that arm looked at. Once the child was secure in his arms, Flynn started to walk away from all the noise. “Shh, it’s okay,” he whispered, starting to rock him as he walked.

“Look, his parents died in a fire that Emma caused. History already changed,” Lucy whispered.

“Also, we don’t know who his parents were or who his nearest relatives might be,” Wyatt added in, earning a nod from Lucy. Connor plopped back down in his chair, furrowing his eyebrows as he rubbed his temples.

Flynn took a seat at the back table, far from all the ruckus. He looked down at the baby in his arms, struck by how easily Lucy handed him over to Flynn. _Trust_ , he realized. She didn’t hesitate back in 1926 either.

“So, you decided to bring him to 2018?” Agent Christopher groaned. Flynn heard a series of footsteps coming behind him and threw his head back. Great, more noise. “Where have you two been?” she muttered, turning around to glare at Jiya and Jessica.

“We only had like two more minutes into the episode and wanted to finish it,” Jiya shrugged. She made her way over to the group, not even noticing Flynn sitting there with a baby. Jessica, on the other hand, noticed immediately and froze in her tracks. “Did everything go okay? What was Emma even after?”

Jessica’s jaw dropped as she glanced over at Wyatt, a question in her eyes. “Uh, everything went fine. Only one real hiccup,” Rufus mumbled, shifting his feet as he spoke. “We kind of have a baby now.”

“What?” Jiya shouted before Connor shushed her. When Lucy pointed over toward Flynn, Jiya’s eyes followed, widening when she saw the baby in his arms. “We have a baby now?” she whispered with wide eyes.

“The baby isn’t staying here,” Agent Christopher warned, but Jiya was already making her way over toward Flynn.

“Where would the baby go, exactly?” Wyatt asked, crossing his arms and cocking his head. Flynn watched as the panicked realization flashing across her face. It wasn’t like they could go back and save the kid’s parents.

Jiya settled into the seat right beside Flynn, leaning over to look at the baby. “He’s so tiny,” she cooed. Jessica hesitantly sat on the other side of Jiya, still confused.

“We could find a temporary home for him while we figure something out,” Agent Christopher said. Flynn made eye contact with Lucy, who looked panicked.

“And what will you tell Child Services about how you obtained this baby?” Flynn asked, and Lucy let out a breath. “They’re going to have questions you can’t exactly answer.”

“Not to mention the baby has no birth certificate, no name, no hospital records…” Lucy jumped in.

“He doesn’t a name?” Jiya asked with a sad look in her eyes. There was a pout on her lips when she turned back toward Flynn and the baby. “You poor thing,” she cooed. She reached over for the baby, who immediately wrapped his tiny hand around one of Jiya’s fingers. A small smile tugged at Flynn’s lips as he watched the exchange.

“What if we could find his next of kin?” Connor asked, and Flynn’s head snapped back up. “We could go back in the Lifeboat and take him to his family.”

“Slight problem with that. We don’t know his or his parent’s names. Hell, I don’t even know what they look like,” Rufus mumbled.

“So, go back to 1925 and talk to them. Get their names and any information about their family that they’ll give you,” Connor said with a shrug. “We can locate the next of kin after that and get our new little friend back to 1926.”

“Okay, but the Lifeboat needs some time to recharge,” Rufus replied.

“In the meantime, we need to get a doctor here to give the baby a check-up. I got him out of that fire as quick as I could, but who knows how much smoke he inhaled,” Lucy said.

“Lucy needs her arm checked out too,” Flynn reminded. Agent Christopher immediately crossed over to Lucy to take a look at her injury. Flynn didn’t miss the way Lucy rolled her eyes at someone fussing over her. “Also, we’re going to need baby formula and diapers.” Rufus grabbed a piece of paper from Connor’s desk and began writing this down. Agent Christopher chimed in with a few other things they were going to need for the baby.

“Can I hold him?” Jiya asked, and a smirk formed on Flynn’s face. He placed the child in her arms, carefully cradling his head.”

“Watch his head,” he warned. Jiya’s smile lit up once the baby was secure in her arms. It was the kind of excitement that was all too rare here in the bunker. Between Jiya’s visions and Wyatt’s love triangle, there weren’t a lot of moments to genuinely smile over.

“You’re really good with babies, huh?” Jessica asked before biting her lip.

“Well, I had a daughter,” he said. “Guess it’s like riding a bike.” When he looked up at Jessica, there was a strange expression on her face. He was about to ask about it, but she stood up and left the room. It didn’t take long for Wyatt to chase after her. He shot a glare at Flynn as he walked by as if Flynn had said something to upset her.

“She’s been in a strange mood all day. Don’t take it personally,” Jiya whispered. The two of them sat with the baby in relative silence. Agent Christopher left the room to make a series of phone calls. Lucy was giving Rufus and Connor all the information she had about the child’s family. And Flynn watched the baby fight to keep his eyes open.

 

* * *

 

Rufus was waiting outside the bathroom door when Flynn stepped out. “I thought I told you to go before I took a shower,” Flynn groaned as he stepped out. There hadn’t been any hot water left by the time it was his turn, but he was still thankful for the few minutes of peace.

“Actually, I was waiting for you to be done,” Rufus said. Flynn turned back to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I kind of need your help with something,” he explained, looking down at his hands. “See, Jiya and I don’t know how to change a diaper.”

“Are you serious?” he muttered, now beelining toward the main area. He could hear the faint sound of the baby crying. “Why didn’t you ask Lucy for help? Or Agent Christopher?” Eight people in a bunker and only three with baby experience.

“Agent Christopher is busy, and Lucy is still with the doctor,” Rufus said, trailing behind Flynn.

“Oh, thank God,” Jiya exclaimed as Flynn powerwalked toward her. He took the wailing child from her arms and headed toward where Agent Christopher dropped off the baby stuff.

“I know, I know,” he murmured to the child. He looked over his shoulder to see Jiya and Rufus still on the other side of the room. “Come over here so I can teach you.”

“Do I have to?” Rufus asked, and Jiya elbowed him in the side.

“Yes,” Flynn ordered. The two of them walked over, observing as Flynn walked them through changing a diaper. When it was done, he picked the baby back up, relieved for the crying to be over. He turned around to see a mess of wooden pieces scattered around the ground. “What is this?”

“The crib Agent Christopher brought over,” Jiya said. “Or at least it will be once Rufus finds the G4 piece.”

“There is no G4 piece,” he muttered as he stomped over to the pile and sat down. “I can build a time machine but apparently I can’t build a simple crib,” he huffed, throwing the instructions over to Jiya.

“Wait, which piece were you looking for?” he heard Connor shout. Flynn hadn’t even noticed him across the room. Connor was similarly staring down a pile of screws and poles in frustration.

“What are you doing?” Rufus groaned, pushing himself up to his feet.

“Well, you said I was getting in your way. So, I just thought I’d work on my section of the crib over here and then we could combine the two when we were done,” he explained. A smirk formed on Flynn’s lips as Rufus muttered his frustrations on his walk over to Connor.

“These are the geniuses that figured out how to travel back in time,” he whispered to the baby. “I know. I have a hard time believing it too.”

“This isn’t a Lego set. You can’t just work on your own part and take half the pieces,” Rufus huffed, snatching a piece from Connor’s stack. Jiya threw her hands up and started down the hallway. Flynn opened his mouth to protest, since she had volunteered to watch the baby for a while. But if Jiya had been listening to these two argue about a crib for the last hour, she needed the break. Flynn settled down on the couch, tuning the two of them out as best he could.

He looked down at the child in his arms. The baby’s eyes beamed up at Flynn, causing his chest to tighten. So much had happened since they got back from 1926. He hadn’t had the time to sit and think about how he felt to be near a baby again. He remembered vividly what it was like to hold Iris like this. The way her eyes beamed up at him like this child’s did. He recalled the protective feeling he had when he first held Iris, knowing that she depended on him to keep her safe. Every time he looked at her, that same feeling took hold of him. All he wanted was to keep her safe. And he failed.

That’s probably why he panicked as that familiar feeling crept up on him again while he watched this baby.

“So, no progress on the crib yet?” Lucy asked, thankfully breaking Flynn away from his thoughts. His head snapped up to look at her. Her arm was heavily bandaged, but she looked okay overall.

“Well, there would be progress if someone hadn’t—”

“Enough,” Flynn groaned. Lucy let out a sigh as she plopped down on the couch beside him.

“They were fighting like this when I left too,” she whispered before turning her attention to the baby. “Hi,” she said with a huge grin, reaching over to pick him up. The wince was still there when she lifted him, and Flynn’s eyes drifted to her bandaging. There was no way she could be in that much pain from such a simple cut. “I missed you,” she told the baby. When she shifted, he saw the edge of a bruise forming just below her neck.

“Give me the hammer back so I can get the leg done,” Connor huffed.

“Do you not see that I am using it?” Rufus snapped.

“So, guys,” Lucy said, finally peeling her eyes from the baby. Flynn jerked his gaze away, realizing he had been staring at her. “Where exactly do you think you’re going to put this crib?”

The hammering stopped as both Connor and Rufus looked up at her with wide eyes. “I thought we were going to put it in your room,” Connor said.

“Slight problem, she doesn’t have a room,” Rufus realized. Lucy pressed her lips together, gesturing as if to say _exactly_. “Uh, I guess we could put it in here.”

“If that baby starts crying in the middle of the night in here, we will all get woken up,” Connor groaned.

“You could always volunteer to keep the baby in your room with you,” Flynn teased. Connor opened his mouth to protest before Flynn said, “Kidding. Although, we can’t keep the baby in here. If anyone comes in here for a glass of water, he’ll wake up and none of us will be sleeping.”

“I guess he could sleep in me and Jiya’s room,” Rufus winced. Flynn nearly started laughing at the panic in Rufus’ eyes at the idea.

“As sweet of an offer that is,” Lucy jumped in, and Rufus let out an immediate sigh of relief, “I’d rather be with the baby.”

“Still doesn’t solve the problem of you not having a room,” Connor pointed out.

“Take my room,” Flynn suggested, and Lucy’s head snapped in his direction. “I can take the couch for a few days.” Though, he wasn’t sure how he could fit on this couch… but that was a future problem. His back was going to regret this offer, he just knew it.

“Really?” she asked in disbelief. Flynn was about to roll his eyes at her skepticism, until he remembered that if this were anyone else, he wouldn’t have made this offer.

“Sure, provided that these two put the crib together by then,” he teased. He winked at Lucy as Rufus let out a frustrated groan.

“I have a leg almost done if I could just get the bloody hammer,” Connor huffed. Lucy slumped down on the couch, clenching her eyes shut as she tried to hold in a laugh.

“I am using it,” Rufus snapped.

“I don’t hear you using it,” Connor prodded. Flynn shushed Lucy when a giggle escaped her lips.

Rufus banged the hammer against one of the pieces. “Did you hear that, Connor? That’s me using the hammer.” Tears started prickling in Lucy’s eyes as she held in her laughter.

“Rufus, you have had the hammer for fifteen minutes and you’re still not done with it,” Connor groaned, standing up to stomp over to Rufus.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing. This is very serious,” Flynn deadpanned. Lucy buried her face into his shoulder to muffle her laughter, and a smile finally tugged at his lips. It was nice, hearing her laugh like this. He wished he could hear it more.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she giggled as she pulled away.

“It’s okay,” he said a little too seriously. Her eyes flickered up to his with a slight confusion behind them, and he jerked his attention back over to Rufus. He could still feel her eyes on him though.


	3. Is That My Shirt?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorter update this time, but it's all Garcy. Thanks so much for all the comments and kudos! Your sweet comments keep inspiring me to write more, so thank you thank you thank you! *blows kiss*

Flynn wanted to murder this couch. It was only his second night sleeping on it since he offered his room to Lucy and the baby. He didn’t know how Lucy slept on it. It was uncomfortable, cramped, and in a room that was always freezing. Flynn had stolen a blanket from Connor and a pillow from Wyatt for this second night, not that it made a difference.

He tried rolling onto his side again, though some old spring stabbed his side when he did. He was about to let out a groan when he heard faint cries coming from down the hallway. He jerked up out of habit before remembering that Lucy would take care of the baby.

In fact, the two of them had been inseparable. While everyone took turns throughout the day watching him, with the notable exceptions of Rufus and Wyatt who were both terrified to hold him, Lucy spent the most time with him. She doted on him a lot like a mother would her own child. She seemed… happier.

She admitted in her journal that she liked taking care of people. It was easier for her to take care of her sister than to worry about herself. It was something he saw bits and pieces of as he got to know her. She’d make sure Jiya remembered to eat on stressful days. She bent over backwards to make Jessica feel at home here, even though it was killing her. She was a voice of reassurance for Rufus. So, it made sense that taking care of the child was making her so happy.

Maybe it was her good mood rubbing off on him, but he was happier too. The baby provided a levity in the air that wasn’t here before they left for 1926. Jiya and Rufus were able to think about something other than her scary premonition. Connor would carry the child around with him as he worked, excitedly narrating his calculations. Agent Christopher, despite being wary of the situation, loved playing with him.

As for Flynn, he liked having someone around who didn’t see him as a monster. Who didn’t know what he had done. The baby was a blank slate. Someone who felt at ease in his arms and could be comforted by him. He started to feel like his old self, the man he was before he lost his family to Rittenhouse. A protector. A good guy. No one else would ever see him that way, of course. But he didn’t realize how badly he wanted to be that person again. For someone to see him that way.

He waited for the crying to be soothed for a few minutes before he pushed himself off the couch and headed toward his door. He knocked softly before pushing the door open. “Oh God, did he wake you up?” Lucy whispered. The baby was crying into her shoulder as she rocked him back and forth. Her hair was thrown up into a messy bun, and she looked like she hardly slept tonight.

“No, I was already awake so don’t…” he trailed off as his eyes dropped to her oversized shirt. He recognized it as one of his. “Is that my shirt?” he asked, blinking a few times to make sure he was seeing this right.

Lucy pressed her lips together as she looked down. “Yeah, he kind of spit up all over mine a few hours ago. I would have gone to grab another one from my room, but I didn’t want to wake up Rufus and Jiya,” she said apologetically. There was something so strange about seeing Lucy in his clothes. Just as strange as seeing her in his space, sleeping in his bed. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“That’s fine. I was just…” he stuttered out, feeling like something was caught in his throat.

If Lucy had noticed that Flynn was acting strange, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she handed off the baby to him. “I’m going to go heat up a bottle,” she whispered, rubbing her eyes as she walked out the door.

He shook his head as he sat down on the bed, being careful not to jostle the child too much. This was all too familiar. The late-night feedings. The not being able to sleep. The half-awake conversations. But this child wasn’t his. This child wasn’t even from this century. And Lucy wasn’t his wife. This wasn’t his family.

Flynn didn’t get to have a family, not after the things he has done. He understood that. He had planned to walk away if he saved Lorena and Iris. Flynn couldn’t be a father or a husband after all this. He thought that with time that realization would get easier, but it didn’t…

Because it didn’t change the face that he wanted to be that again. He ached to have someone to take care of and who loved him in return. He craved some kind of family, even though he lost his.

When Lucy came back into the room, he didn’t look up at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the crying child in his arms. “Did you make sure to—”

“Yes. It’s not too warm,” she whispered before handing the bottle to him. She plopped down next to him as he fed the baby. “Please tell me this gets easier.”

“It does,” he admitted, and she let out a sigh. “I’m surprised you know so much about this. I didn’t think Amy was that much younger than you.”

“She’s not, or she wasn’t,” she stuttered out. Flynn’s head jerked up to look at her, panicked that he crossed a line by bringing her up. But Lucy wasn’t that thrown by the mention of her sister. “One of my colleagues in my department had a baby not too long ago. I went a little baby crazy,” she said with a hint of a smile. “I’d babysit whenever she and her wife needed me to, so I picked up a bit here and there. I just never ended up this sleep deprived.”

“You know that there are other people in this bunker who can help you, right?” he reminded her. “You don’t have to do everything yourself.”

“Hey, I’m letting you help right now, aren’t I?” she huffed, and a smirk formed on his face.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” she conceded. “It’s just…” His eyes were boring into her as he waited for her to continue that thought. She bit down on her lip, as if arguing with herself. “My life used to be so different. I had my mom, who I trusted with everything. I had Amy.” Flynn clenched his jaw, realizing where she was going with this. “I had my team: Wyatt and Rufus. But everything is different now.”

“Not completely—”

“Yeah, it is. My mom left me to hang in Salem,” she said, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Amy is lost forever thanks to Emma.”

“Lucy,” he pleaded, but she shook her head.

“I can’t really be around Wyatt much anymore, not after…” she trailed off, looking down at her hands. “And I’m terrified that Jiya might be right about Rufus. That we are going to lose him.” He glanced down at the baby again, making sure he was okay. “I don’t know how to fix any of that, but I can make sure this kid has his best chance. And at least when I’m taking care of him, I’m not thinking about how alone I am.”

He blinked a few times at her, letting those words wash over him. “You aren’t alone, Lucy,” he whispered, and her eyes finally met his. This wasn’t what he meant when he told her that they were both alone. He was trying to tell her that she wasn’t the only one that felt this way, that she didn’t have to be all alone.

She looked like she was going to argue with him, but then the baby started spitting up. Lucy darted across the room, grabbing a towel to put on Flynn’s shoulder as he repositioned the child. Once they were settled again, he was going to push the subject with Lucy. But when he looked over his shoulder at her, she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

So, he said nothing, and focused his attention back on the child. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there with him, humming a tune he remembered his mother singing. But after a while, the baby finally settled back to sleep. “Finally,” he whispered with a small smile on his face. He glanced over at Lucy when she didn’t respond, finding her fast asleep.

He got off the bed to place the child back in his crib, careful not to wake Lucy. When he turned around, she had shifted a bit, now properly lying down instead of propped uncomfortably against the wall. Her hair that had fallen from her bun was now spread messily across the pillow. Her lips were parted slightly as quiet sighs escaped her mouth. She looked so at peace as she slept, a far cry from the worry that stayed in her eyes when she was awake. He wished she could be this at ease all the time. God knows if anyone deserved it, it was Lucy.

Carefully, he pulled the blankets over her before ducking out the door. He was as quiet as he could be as he shut the door. “Flynn?” he heard a voice call out, and his head snapped down the hallway. A sleepy Jiya was stepping out of the bathroom, narrowing her eyes at him. “Why’re you up this late?” He was about to explain that the baby was crying and he was helping Lucy, when Jiya’s eyes widened and she exclaimed, “Oh!”

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before he realized what this looked like. “No, that’s not—”

“It’s cool. Not my business,” she said as she took off down the hall.

“Jiya,” Flynn whispered as loud as he could without waking up Lucy and the baby. But it was pointless. She was already halfway to her room, where she’d probably tell Rufus what she saw. He let out a quiet groan as he made his way back to that flimsy excuse for a couch. He was too tired to deal with this. He’d figure something out after he got actual sleep.


	4. It Was That Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where that angst tag comes in. Next chapter will have more domestic fluff I promise.

Garcia Flynn flipped through his newspaper, decidedly ignoring the dirty looks Wyatt kept tossing his way. He wasn’t sure what he did this time, but he didn’t care at this point. Flynn existing seemed to be enough to anger Wyatt.

“So, who is watching the baby while you and Lucy go back to 1925?” Jessica asked as she plopped down between Flynn and Wyatt. Flynn blinked a few times, wondering why she was asking him.

“I’m not sure. I figured Agent Christopher would,” he replied before taking a sip of coffee.

“Well, Wyatt and I could watch him,” she said. Wyatt immediately started coughing, and Flynn dropped the paper onto the table.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and Wyatt waved him off.

“Jess, I really don’t know anything about babies,” Wyatt whispered.

“We talked about this. It would be a good chance for you to _learn_ ,” she said forcefully. Flynn looked over his shoulder at Connor, who just shrugged in response. Something was going on with those two.

“They probably need me in the Lifeboat,” he replied.

“No, we don’t,” Flynn muttered without thinking, earning another glare from Wyatt. He opened his mouth to snap back at him, but Lucy walking in killed the argument. “Jessica and Wyatt want to watch the baby while we’re gone,” he told her as he pushed himself up from his seat. He grabbed the baby formula from the cabinet for her.

“Oh, perfect,” Lucy said. Before Wyatt could object again, Lucy started giving them instructions while Flynn got the bottle ready. Between that and Jessica’s questions, no one could get a word in.

He took a seat once he handed her the bottle, picking up the paper again. He tuned in and out in the conversation, a bit too tired to contribute. He got a few hours of sleep on the couch, but it felt like he hadn’t slept in days.

By the time Agent Christopher got there, Flynn was on his third cup of coffee and was slapping his cheeks to try to wake up. “Is Rufus ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes. So, as soon as Lucy gets cleared by the doctor, you can go,” she said, pointedly staring down Lucy.

“Are you serious?” she huffed. She glanced over at Flynn, gesturing for him to take the child. “It’s been days. I told you I was fine.” Flynn furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but didn’t dare get involved in whatever this was. Neither of them were people he wanted to get into an argument with, especially not on this little sleep. So, he took the baby into his arms without a word.

“Humor me,” Agent Christopher pleaded. Lucy sighed as she pushed herself up. “I’m making Wyatt get a follow up too.” That seemed to satisfy Lucy, and she followed Agent Christopher down the hallway.

“A follow up for what? Is this about your back injury you keep saying is totally fine?” Jessica snapped, narrowing her eyes at Wyatt.

“Jess, it’s nothing,” he groaned.

“Apparently, it’s not nothing. What happened?” Jessica wasn’t dropping the subject.

“Look, it happened while we were trying to get everyone out of that house. Beams were coming down as the second story started to collapse. I’m just sore and bruised up. Agent Christopher is just making a big deal about it because we didn’t tell her about it. And we didn’t tell her about it because it was nothing,” Wyatt huffed.

Flynn clenched his jaw but said nothing as Wyatt left the room. “Did Lucy tell you about that?” Jessica whispered to him, and he shook his head. It explained the bruises he saw and the visible signs of her soreness.

“I just think he didn’t want you to worry,” Flynn offered. Jessica bit down on her lip before shaking her head.

“If I had a nickel for every time I heard that excuse…” He could see that being a common excuse from Wyatt. After all, he’s a soldier and his work is dangerous. He wouldn’t want the woman he loves to worry about him all the time. But this didn’t explain why Lucy didn’t tell anyone about her injuries.

 

* * *

 

Rufus and Flynn reused the same outfits they stole back in 1926. Lucy’s was too damaged from the fire. Luckily, this was a trip back in time they actually planned, meaning Connor had time to find something for her to wear ahead of time.

Flynn and Rufus were waiting inside the Lifeboat for Lucy to get dressed. “Are you not nervous about leaving the baby with Wyatt and Jessica?” Rufus asked.

Flynn cocked his head to the side, looking at him. “Why would I be nervous?” Lucy had left obscene amounts of instructions for them. Besides, Agent Christopher would be around, and she raised two children. So, the baby was in good hands. Sure, Flynn was a little anxious to not be here in case something happened… but he had to trust that everything would be okay without him.

“Don’t new parents get all panicky the first time they go out without their baby? Or is that just a sitcom trope?” he said, tapping his fingers on his thigh.

“Lucy and I aren’t his parents,” Flynn reminded, though he wasn’t sure if he was reminding himself or Rufus. They were literally going back in time to meet his parents, after all. He _knew_ they weren’t is parents. And he knew that their situation was only temporary, that they would find an uncle or grandparent and take him to them.  

“Okay, but you kind of are,” Rufus said, and Flynn narrowed his eyes at him. Before Flynn could argue with him, Lucy stepped into the Lifeboat. She was quiet as she buckled herself in, a little too quiet for his liking. Flynn shut the door, only hearing the sound of Rufus flipping switches.

Once he sat down, he saw her pressing out the creases of her skirt. She had her bottom lip between her teeth, her brows furrowed. “Lucy,” he whispered, and her eyes fluttered up to meet his. “He’ll be fine.”

“I know that,” she sighed. Maybe they were acting like new parents, anxious about leaving their baby at home. It was weird to think of them like that, especially given how few days it’s been since they brought the child to 2018.

The ride was as turbulent as always, leaving Flynn a bit shaky as he hopped out. Once he had his balance again, he reached up to help Lucy get down. “Looks just like last time,” Rufus said as he hopped down after her.

Rufus asked all sorts of questions about what they needed to learn while in 1925, but Lucy stayed pretty quiet. “Basically, we need their names, their family’s names, and hopefully some locations?” Rufus confirmed, and Flynn nodded.

“We might be able to find them on their names alone, but knowing where they live will speed it up according to Connor,” Flynn explained. Rufus was quiet again, falling behind Flynn and Lucy. He glanced over at Lucy, trying to figure out why she hadn’t said anything about getting hurt during the fire. It was a small consolation that he wasn’t the only one she had kept this from, but it still stung. Flynn was under no delusions that he was a close confidant of hers. Sure, she had opened up to him that night she came to his room with a bottle of vodka in her hand. She had relaxed around him since then, playfully pushing his shoulder or occasionally smiling in his direction. But there was still a wall there, keeping him at arm’s length. He wasn’t the only one being pushed away, but sometimes it seemed like he was the only one trying to change that.

Deciding that bluntness was his best move, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell any of us that a beam fell on you during the fire?”

Lucy pressed her lips together but kept her eyes facing forward. There was something so off about how she held herself today, and it couldn’t just be because she was worried about the baby back home. “We had a bigger problem to deal with,” she shrugged.

“Okay, but we brought the baby back safely, and you still didn’t tell any of us,” he pointed out.

“Look, I’m a little bit bruised. I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal out of it,” she muttered, and he snapped his mouth shut. “I don’t see you fussing over Wyatt.”

Flynn rolled his eyes. She should know by now that he didn’t give a damn about Wyatt. But he dropped the subject for now. There was something else off with Lucy today that he couldn’t put his finger on, and until that was figured out, he wouldn’t make any progress on figuring out why she kept her injury from him.

When the house came into view, Flynn involuntarily shuddered. He hadn’t been anywhere near that house when it had come down but looking at it now still gave him this sick feeling in his stomach. It was the same feeling he had when he realized that Lucy had been inside. And it was the feeling he was holding the baby, thinking about how close that sweet child had come to losing his life.

Without a word, he led Rufus and Lucy up to the doorstep and knocked. As they waited, he glanced over his shoulder at Lucy, who looked a little too pale for his liking. “Are you okay?” he asked, and she nodded without looking at him.

The door swung open, revealing a much younger man than Flynn had been expecting. In fact, he looked no older than Jiya. He should really know better, since back then people got married and started having children much younger than today. But seeing this man, this boy, it felt like a punch to the gut. He had his entire life ahead of him, and it gets ripped away a year from now because of Rittenhouse and Emma.

“Hello,” Flynn remembered to say. “My name is Garcia Flynn. This is my wife, Lucy, and our friend, Rufus. We are so sorry to trouble you, but it seems that we got lost trying to find our way back into town.”

“Well, come on in and we’ll get you sorted out,” he replied, gesturing for them to come inside. “My name is Robert, and my wife is around here somewhere.” Flynn took a few steps into the foyer, glancing around at the home. “Clara,” he called out. “We have a few visitors who need directions back into town.”

“You have a lovely home,” Rufus said as they followed Robert into the sitting area. Flynn slowed his movements to fall in step with Lucy, who hadn’t said a word. “Have you always lived here?” Lucy sat on the loveseat, and Flynn plopped down beside her.

“All my life, actually,” he said with a grin. “This was my parent’s home before they passed earlier this year.” Flynn glanced over at Lucy, who seemed to be taking note of this too.

“I am so sorry to hear that,” Lucy finally spoke. “That must have been so hard on your whole family.”

“Well, it’s only me left. My brother, David, had already lost his life in the war,” Robert replied. Flynn looked over at Lucy, his chest starting to tighten. There was no one alive on Robert’s side of the family that could take the child. “Anyway, let me go grab the map so I can—”

“Robert,” a girl said, and Flynn’s eyes flickered up to the doorway where she was standing.

“This is my wife,” Robert announced, jumping up from his seat to greet her. This girl had to be just eighteen, far too young to lose her life in a year. “Clara, this is Garcia, and his wife, Lucy. And this is their friend, Rufus.”

“So lovely to meet you all,” Clara said with a small smile.

“Sweetheart,” Robert said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you stay and chat with Lucy, while the I show Garcia and Rufus how to get back to town?” Flynn glanced over at Lucy, whose jaw was set.

“Lucy,” he whispered, resting his hand on her back. Her eyes fluttered up to meet his, sadder than he was used to, and he understood. It was hard being in this house with them, knowing what happens. It was hard enough dealing with that throughout history. But Lucy and Flynn had a connection to these people that they didn’t have with the others: Lucy and Flynn loved their son, and they were doing everything they could to make sure he was taken care of. And that meant that Lucy had to talk to Clara and figure out what family she has.

“I’ll be fine,” Lucy murmured. He waited a beat for her to change her mind, but she didn’t. So, he and Rufus stood and followed Robert down the hallway toward his study. Rufus asked all sorts of questions as Robert explained the route they needed to take, trying to give Lucy more time with Clara. But every word out of Robert’s mouth felt like a tiny dagger into Flynn’s skin. He was truly a good man, the kind of person that would make an incredible father if given the chance. And even though there was nothing Flynn could have done to stop it, he still felt like a usurper. After all, he was acting like that child’s father when he already had someone perfect for the job that wasn’t supposed to be taken from him.

When they returned, Lucy and Clara were talking quietly amongst themselves. “Lucy, are you ready to go?” Flynn asked, and let out a sigh of relief when Lucy nodded. The women said their goodbyes as Flynn offered his thanks to Robert.

Stepping outside felt like the first time Flynn had breathed since they had arrived. The three of them headed in the direction Robert pointed them in, so they wouldn’t raise suspicion, before turning back toward the Lifeboat. “Clara ran away from home to marry Robert,” Lucy finally said. “Her parents are up in Boston, but they have basically disowned her.”

“But if something happened to her daughter, they would take in their grandson, right?” Rufus asked.

“Maybe. I have their names, so we can look into them. But she has a sister, who she actually had a good relationship with,” Lucy explained.

“Let’s try the sister first,” Flynn said. “I’m not feeling too confident about the people who disowned their child being the guardian for her child.” His tone was a bit more icy than usual, and he felt bad for snapping at Rufus.

“Beth Reynolds, though there is a problem there too,” Lucy sighed. “Clara is pretty sure she is engaged but she doesn’t know who to since she’s been cut off from the family.”

Rufus stopped dead in his tracks with a groan. “Do you know how hard it is to track down a woman in history by just her maiden name, Lucy?” he whined. Flynn through his head back, realizing that the sister’s name would change before 1926. “Not to mention that neither Beth nor Reynolds is particularly distinctive.”

“What do you want me to do, Rufus? I am doing everything I can,” Lucy snapped, causing both men to jump. She had been so quiet all day, almost zombie-like inside that house. It wasn’t like Lucy normally to snap like this, at least not at Rufus. She had snapped at Flynn like this when he tried to say that he knew her, but he understood why she did now.

Flynn exchanged a nervous look with Rufus, who still seemed to be shocked by her tone. When he glanced back at Lucy, she was holding her hands on top of her head as she paced, almost as if she was trying to get her breathing under control… like she was working herself into a panic attack. “Go back to the Lifeboat. We will meet you there,” Flynn whispered to Rufus, whose eyes widened. “She just needs a minute,” he reassured.

Quietly, Rufus followed Flynn’s suggestion and kept on walking. Flynn didn’t move toward Lucy, since he didn’t want to make her tense anymore. She pressed her back against a tree and let her eyes fall shut, clearly trying to regulate her breathing. He settled against a tree across from her, watching anxiously as she brought herself back from the brink of a panic attack.

He remembered reading about this in her journals, but he didn’t remember her having these in situations like this. Her panic attacks were always triggered by her claustrophobia, which was brought on by her accident all those years ago. Over time, she learned how to soothe herself when these incidents brought back those memories, and she wrote in those journals exactly how she would calm down.

“Sorry,” he finally heard Lucy mumble. Her eyes were still shut, but she seemed to be through the worst of it. “We should get going.”

“Lucy,” he whispered, and she bit down on her lip. “Talk to me, please.” He had been trying all day to figure out what was wrong with Lucy. She kept that injury from him, she had been reserved all day, and she worked herself into a panic attack. “I’m just… I’m worried about you,” he pleaded.

Her eyes jerked open, peering at him with a strange expression he couldn’t read. He could see her arguing with herself, trying to decide if she could trust him with whatever is haunting her. Finally, she said, “It was that room.” He furrowed his eyes in confusion, frantically trying to make sense of that cryptic sentence. “I’ve been trying not to think about it, because when I think about it, I can’t breathe. But Agent Christopher just wouldn’t stop bothering me about my bruises.”

Flynn’s eyes slammed shut as he realized that was the room where it happened. It was where the baby was trapped. It was where Lucy almost got herself killed trying to get him out. He knew that being back here would probably be hard on her, but he hadn’t even considered what being in that fire had done to her or how horrible it would be for her to be trapped in that house again. In that room.

“And then you started asking about them, and so did Rufus. The more people ask about that, the more I have to think about it. And then we come here, and I just… I feel like I’m still in that fire,” she said, her voice shaky.

Flynn pushed himself off the tree, walking toward her without thinking better of it. When her teary eyes met his, he froze. He really didn’t know how to comfort Lucy. He always seemed to say the wrong thing when it came to her. And it wasn’t like Lucy would think of Garcia Flynn as her first choice when it came to being comforted. For the second time in an hour, he felt like a usurper, taking a role he hadn’t earned.  

“And then _meeting_ them,” she whispered before breaking into a sob. His body jumped back into action, crossing over toward her. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he certainly wasn’t expecting for Lucy to reach out for him and bury her face into his chest.

“I know,” he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her, gently rocking her back and forth. One hand cradled the back of her head as he rested his head on top of hers, trying to think of something more to say. Lucy was always so good with words, knowing just what to say to ease the pain of those she loved. But Flynn… he just wasn’t. He fumbled over his words as he tried to connect with Lucy back in San Antonio. He always said the wrong thing in that bunker. Even years ago, he managed to put his foot in his mouth constantly with Lorena, who luckily found it endearing.

Lucy mumbled something into his chest, but he couldn’t make it out. He was about to ask what she said when he spotted Rufus walking toward them. Flynn hadn’t realized just how much time had passed since he sent Rufus back to the Lifeboat. He had probably been worried.

When Flynn didn’t respond to her, Lucy popped her head up to look at him. “Lucy,” Rufus said, now jogging over to them. She pulled away from Flynn’s arms to wipe away her tears, and he took a step back, letting Rufus rush in to hug her.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay,” Rufus interrupted her. “What’s going on?” he asked, pulling back to glance over at Flynn.

“I just got overwhelmed. I’m fine, I promise,” Lucy said, and Flynn bit down on his lip. “Let’s go home.”

Rufus looked skeptical but didn’t push the subject. The three of them began walking toward the Lifeboat as Lucy gave Rufus a few suggestions for how to find the sister. Flynn kept his eyes on Lucy as they walked, watching for any sign she was getting overwhelmed again. But she seemed better, almost relaxed.


	5. Can I Talk Now?

Flynn was the last one out of the Lifeboat. Rufus had already darted over to Mason, giving him Beth Reynold’s name. When he spotted Lucy, Jessica was handing the baby over to her. Her entire face lit up as she pulled the baby closer, which made some of Flynn’s concern about earlier melt away. When he walked over toward them, he saw that the baby was just as excited to see Lucy with the way his lips twitched up into a little smile.

“He wasn’t too much trouble, was he?” Lucy asked, and Jessica just shrugged.

“I was fine, but Wyatt is taking a nap because apparently this little guy is more exhausting than bootcamp,” Jessica cooed, reaching over to tickle the child’s stomach. Lucy erupted into an easy laugh before finally spotting Flynn. Her smile softened a bit as she gestured for him to take the child, clearly seeing that he wanted to check up on him too. “Did you guys get his name while you were gone?”

“I did,” Lucy said right as she settled him into Flynn’s arms. The child’s eyes beamed up at him just like they did when Lucy picked him up. He swallowed, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the baby’s excitement to see him. It reminded him too much of how Iris would grin in excitement when Flynn held her after being gone for days because of work. “While the guys were in the other room, Clara told me she just found out she was pregnant. I asked if she had thought of any baby names yet. She had a whole list if it was a girl, but she and Robert decided that if it was a boy, they were going to name him after Robert’s father, James.”

“James,” Flynn repeated, nodding along. Jessica went on to say something else, but he could feel Lucy’s eyes on him. He glanced up at her, seeing her narrow her eyes in concern.

“Are you okay?” she waited to ask after Jessica walked off, and he waved her off. He didn’t need to worry her with this, especially given the duress she was just under on the mission. She didn’t need to know that there was a very selfish part of him that didn’t want to find James’ family so that he could stay with them. That he was terrified of how he loved this baby, knowing that James would go back to his real family soon and forget Flynn or Lucy.

James tried to turn his head toward Lucy, extending his small hand toward her. “Oh, hi,” she said with a huge smile, letting him take her finger in his hand. “I missed you too,” she whispered before kissing his hand. Her eyes then fluttered up to Flynn, making him all too aware of how close they were standing to each other and the fact that he had been staring at her again. She opened her mouth to say something, clearly having something on her mind.

“Hey, Lucy?” Rufus called out, and Lucy’s mouth snapped shut. She pressed a quick kiss to the baby’s cheek before breaking away. He kept his eyes on her for a beat too long, only realizing his mistake when Rufus took notice of his gaze.

He adjusted James in his arms, walking past Lucy, Rufus, and Connor who were all huddled around a computer. He made his way toward the kitchen, needing something to eat since he hadn’t had anything since that morning. “Did you have fun with Jessica and Wyatt?” he whispered, rocking James in one arm as he perused the cabinet. “I’m sure you did, and you clearly wore them out too,” he grinned as he looked down at him. It warmed his heart when James would imitate the happy expression on his face like he was doing now. “Yes, you did,” he cooed before shutting the cabinet.

When he checked the fridge, he caught Lucy looking over at him with a soft expression in her eyes before ducking her head and continuing on her way down the hallway. He furrowed his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. Then, he heard more footsteps and turned to see Rufus walking toward him. “How is the search for Beth going?” Flynn asked.

“We only just started looking. It’ll be a while,” Rufus said, but he didn’t move or walk away. Flynn let the fridge door shut and turned around, cocking an eyebrow at him. “I need to talk to you.”

“You are currently talking to me,” he pointed out, adjusting James in his arms. Rufus furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the floor. “What’s wrong?” he asked, not liking the panicked expression on his face.

“It’s about Lucy.” Flynn’s chest tightened at those words, his eyes already darting toward the hallway she just walked down. “Look, Jiya… well, you know, she told me about last night,” he stuttered out. Flynn blinked a few times, struggling to follow his sentence. Last night felt like weeks ago after the long day of traveling back to 1925. He remembered struggling to fall asleep on that God awful couch, and he remembered getting up to help Lucy with James. Then, he left… and ran into Jiya.

A loud groan escaped Flynn’s lips. He had forgotten all about that and what it looked like to Jiya. That explains why Wyatt was so pissed at Flynn this morning… it felt just like that day he warned Flynn to stay away from her. “I didn’t really believe her but then I saw you two in 1925 being all…” Rufus trailed off, doing a strange, awkward hand gesture when he couldn’t find the words.

“I was holding her while she cried,” he clarified. “But—”

“Let me finish,” Rufus said firmly. “It’s none of my business, but Lucy is a good person who has been through a lot.”

“Lucy and I aren’t—” he tried to get out before Rufus continued on with his overprotective big brother type speech.

“Just don’t hurt her, okay? She’s been through enough,” he finished, still looking nervous as he glanced up at Flynn.

“Can I talk now?” Flynn smirked, and Rufus shuffled back slightly. “Lucy and I are friends,” he explained. “Jiya caught me sneaking out of the room because Lucy fell asleep while I was calming down the baby and I didn’t want to wake her. There is nothing going on, so don’t worry about me hurting Lucy.”

“Oh God,” Rufus said, wincing slightly. “Okay umm… can you just forget that I threatened you, then?”

“Well, you didn’t really threaten me,” Flynn chuckled.

“I meant to, but I guess I got so rattled I forgot. I was practicing it all in my head earlier,” Rufus shrugged, though still hesitant as if he were worried Flynn was upset. Honestly, it was kind of sweet that Rufus would confront him to protect Lucy, especially given Rufus’ attitude toward Flynn. It wasn’t like Wyatt threatening him to stay away from her, but like a big brother trying to make sure she stayed safe.

Rufus beelined toward the hallway, clearly not wanting to continue this awkward attempted confrontation. “You’re a good friend to her, Rufus,” Flynn called out before turning back toward the fridge. James was started to get a bit fussy, and he let out a sigh.

“You are too, by the way,” Rufus said back.

 

* * *

 

It was strange how quickly he and Lucy had fallen into this routine. They didn’t need to utter a word to tell the other to go heat up the bottle while the other calmed down James, which made things easier when they were dead on their feet in the middle of the night.

When Flynn sleepily stumbled back into his old room, Lucy was holding James while propped up against the wall, sitting on his bed. Too tired to think better of it, Flynn plopped down beside her as she fed James. He let out a sigh of relief the second the crying stopped, feeling like he could fall asleep right here.

He hadn’t seen much of Lucy since they returned from 1925. Flynn had happily taken James for most of the day, knowing that Lucy wanted to be alone after what happened on the trip. “How are you feeling?” he whispered, and her head turned in his direction.

“Fine,” she responded simply, and he cocked an eyebrow. “Really, I am. That just happens sometimes when I get too overwhelmed,” she sighed. “But how did you know?”

“Your journal,” he said, almost rolling his eyes. It seemed to be the answer for how he knew most things about Lucy. He was surprised she hadn’t guessed it, since there would be no other reason why Flynn would figure out what was wrong before Rufus did. Well, other than the fact that Flynn watched Lucy more closely than Rufus did.

“Oh,” was all she said. He nodded along, fixing his eyes on the gray wall across from them. “How are you feeling?”

He blinked a few times before glancing back at her. “What do you mean?”

“You seemed upset earlier, but I didn’t think you wanted to talk about it in front of everyone,” she explained, and he bit down on his lip. He was surprised Lucy had noticed, especially given her state of mind at the time or how many people were hounding her with questions. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

“No,” he sighed, “I should.” It wasn’t right that he had such an unfair insight into Lucy’s mind but didn’t offer her the same. Though, he feared that Lucy wouldn’t like what she saw when he did open himself up to her. But if anyone were to understand what was bothering him right now, it was her. “I know that James doesn’t belong here. He belongs with his family back in 1926. I understand that, I do.”

“But you don’t want him to leave,” Lucy whispered, her eyes blinking softly up at him. He bit down hard on his lip and nodded. His tense muscles eased for a moment, soothed by the realization that he wasn’t alone in this. “I don’t either.”

Without another word, she handed him the partially empty bottle and started to sit James up. Flynn reached over to the table, setting the bottle down before grabbing the towel. Once he was sitting up again with the towel over his shoulder, Lucy handed James over. “This can’t be easy for you,” Lucy finally said as Flynn lightly patted on the baby’s back.

None of it was easy. He was growing more attached to the baby by the minute. And the idea of losing James, even if it was to give him his best chance… it broke his heart and reminded him too much of losing Iris. And Lucy could see that, of course. Flynn was an idiot if he thought Lucy wouldn’t notice. But he was a guarded man who didn’t have anyone close to him anymore, except her, who probably didn’t even consider them close. How could she after everything he had done?

“I will be fine,” he mumbled. “I’ll be upset for a while, but eventually, I’ll get used to being alone again. I always do.”

If he had been more awake, he might have stopped himself from uttering that sentence. But he didn’t think anything of it until he heard Lucy’s worried voice whisper, “Garcia.”

He had never expected to hear that name fall off Lucy’s lips. He didn’t hear his first name often these days. The entire bunker knew him as Flynn, the former terrorist they helped break out of prison. His crew from before he was arrested all called him Flynn. His associates from work referred to him that way as well. It was really only his friends and loved ones that called him by the name his mother gave him, which meant that it evoked this warm and nostalgic feeling in him whenever he heard it.

“You won’t be alone,” Lucy finally said. He knew she meant well, but she couldn’t fully understand. Yes, they would both lose James and be devastated. But Flynn would lose the only person on this earth who didn’t see him as a monster. Lucy doesn’t understand what that is like because she is too good, too kind. Anyone who meets her could see the kind of love she has in her heart and care for her. Meanwhile, Flynn was only now becoming friendly with Rufus and getting close to Lucy.

Both their hearts will break when they take James back to their family, but at least Lucy was surrounded by people who loved her and would help her recover. But there was no one left who could love Flynn, not after everything he had done.

His jaw was tense by the time James was finished spitting up, but he relaxed when he had the baby adjusted in his arms. He flung the towel off him, throwing it onto the table. “Someone’s getting sleepy,” Lucy cooed, leaning toward Flynn to look down at James.

“We should get him back in the crib,” Flynn sighed, though he wasn’t quite ready to leave to go back to being alone on that couch.

“Can we just sit here for a few minutes?” she whispered, running her thumb gently over James’ cheek.

“Mhmm,” he mumbled, and Lucy rested her head sleepily on Flynn’s shoulder to get a better view of the baby. Her soft hair brushed against his nose, and he resisted every urge he had to rest his head on hers. Instead, he kept his eyes on the child in his arms who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

There was something so calming about watching a child fall asleep. The rest of the world could be on fire, but you wouldn’t know it by the looks of a happy baby peacefully fluttering his eyes closed. Peace wasn’t something easy to come by for Garcia Flynn, so he would take these fleeting moments of it happily while he could.

He waited for Lucy to tell him to put James in the crib, though she never did. At first, he thought it was because she wanted to watch him sleep for a while too. But minutes passed, and she was still silent. Carefully, he craned his head to look at her, finding her fast asleep on his shoulder.

He knew he should quietly wake her up so that he could put James to bed, but there was a selfish part of him that wanted to hold onto this moment. He didn’t know how many of them he had left. So, he watched them both sleep for a while before his eyes grew too heavy and he became powerless to not fall asleep with his head resting on Lucy’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for Soft™ Garcia Flynn what can I say


	6. Sweet Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got some bed sharing coming up, y'all. You know, just like platonic adoptive co-parents that really are just friends Rufus do.

Flynn first awoke to the hum from the vents. He blinked sleepily a few times, remembering he was back in his own room. He glanced down at James, who was still fast asleep. Flynn tried to sit up straighter, figuring he should put him into his crib. But a weight on his shoulder and chest stilled his movements.

He turned his head carefully, not wanting to wake the child, and spotted Lucy’s mess of hair next to him. He would have to moved to see her face, and he didn’t want to wake her. But he could feel her even breathing against his neck and her fingers at the collar of his shirt.

A loud thump came from the vents, causing Flynn to jump a bit. Lucy started to stir, and he silently cursed himself for waking her. But instead of waking up completely, she nuzzled into his neck, letting out a contented sigh against his skin.

It caused something to stir in his chest, a foreign warmth. He shouldn’t read too much into this. Lucy was exhausted when she fell asleep on him. And her getting closer to him in her sleep was something she’d never do when conscious. It was just her body seeking out warmth and comfort while she slept.

Despite knowing that, he savored this moment with the two of them. It was almost like the three of them were a family. And as Flynn rested his head back on top of Lucy’s, he let himself imagine they were a real family who loved each other.

The next time he awoke, it was to the alarms indicating that Rittenhouse had jumped. Flynn was lying down somehow, likely moving in his sleep. He jerked up, searching the room for any sign of Lucy or James. But neither of them were there. Flynn tripped over himself as he ran out of bed toward the Lifeboat.

He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lucy, fully dressed, with James in her arms as she talked with Connor. She must have taken the baby and left Flynn so he could get more sleep. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way toward them, hearing from the group that Rittenhouse jumped to the day Reagan was shot.

“You coming?” Lucy asked, though he sensed something off about her, perhaps a small blush in her cheeks. James arm jutted out toward Flynn, reaching for him as his little hand flexed.

Flynn let James take his finger into his small fist before leaning down to pepper the baby’s hand with small kisses, loving the excited squeal that escaped the child’s lips. A smile was still tugging at Flynn’s lips as he replied, “Much as I enjoy our trips together, I think I’ll stay. I was in first grade in 1981.”

She blinked a few times before nodding. She glanced down at James and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead before handing him to Flynn. “I’ll be home soon,” she cooed to James as he settled in Flynn’s arms. Her eyes then fluttered up to Flynn, as if she wanted to say something. But her lips stayed firmly together, thinking better of it.

“Be careful,” he whispered. Her eyes softened for a brief moment before turning away and returning to the conversation.

 

* * *

 

The air in the bunker was tense, especially after learning about the real reason Rittenhouse went back to 1981. After Agent Christopher was talked into going home to be with her family, Connor and Flynn settled down by the computers. He had put James down for a nap half an hour ago and kept the baby monitor at the table with them.

Connor and Rufus had yet to find Beth Reynolds after she got married, but they did find her parents. To kill time, Flynn decided to read through the little information that Connor could find on them. Edward, James’ grandfather, is supposed to die in 1931 from an untreated infection, meaning James would be only five when he loses yet another guardian. Irene doesn’t pass away until 1937, but that only gets James to eleven.

“This is pointless,” Flynn grumbled, resting his head on the table. “Besides, these people are the last people Clara wanted her son to be left with. They disowned her.”

“They are also the only people we’ve got,” Connor pointed out. “Look, you can leave James with them, and when they pass away, Beth can take him in.”

“We need to get him to Beth first,” he hissed. “Edward and Irene are already old, not to mention kind of horrible. James needs to have a stable home immediately, not two guardians who will die off before he is even twelve.”

Flynn pushed himself from the table, shaking his head. He wasn’t going to say goodbye to James unless he was convinced that he would be given a good, happy life. “He already has a stable home,” Connor muttered.

It wasn’t like Flynn hadn’t already thought that. But James belonged in 1926. He belonged with his real family. And even though Flynn and Lucy loved him, they couldn’t keep him. It would alter the timeline if they plucked someone out of history and kept him in the present. Not to mention how dangerous Flynn and Lucy’s lives were. Rittenhouse could jump into the Mothership at any moment and erase one or both of them from history. If they succeeded today, the team would have never existed… and who knows what would happen to James then.

Flynn could survive sending James back to his family in 1926. He’d be miserable, and it would break his heart, but he would survive. What he wouldn’t survive is losing another child to Rittenhouse, not after promising to keep him safe.

He waved Connor off as he made his way back toward his room to check on James. He was fast asleep in his crib, one of his arms stretched up. Carefully, Flynn kicked off his shoes and lied down in the bed, figuring he might as well sleep while they wait.

He got comfortable and forced his eyes shut. When he rolled over onto his side, though, he realized that his pillow smelled like Lucy. Of course, it would. She’s been sleeping in this bed for days. But the reality of that didn’t click until Flynn recognized the smell of her shampoo on the sheets.

There weren’t many other signs of Lucy being here. She had been careful about not moving his stuff around, more evidence that whatever it was they were doing was temporary. Hell, she leapt out of the room this morning before Flynn even woke up. She was being mindful of his space, but he found that he wouldn’t mind if there were more signs of her being here.

His eyes were started to flutter shut as he focused on the soft smell of Lucy on his pillow when James started crying. Flynn rolled out of bed, quickly getting James up in his arms. “What is it?” he cooed. James had just been fed before his nap, and he didn’t need a diaper change yet.

He rocked him as James buried his face into Flynn’s shirt. “Do you just miss Lucy?” he whispered before kissing his forehead. The infant just cried into him as he frantically tried to soothe him. “I miss her too,” he admitted, trying not to think about what kind of hell was waiting for her in 1981.

 

* * *

 

When the Lifeboat came back, Flynn stayed to the side so that Agent Christopher could talk to everyone. They were all smiles, which was a rarity in this bunker. Eventually, Lucy did make her way to Flynn and James. Without a word, he handed her the baby, who he knew she was really there to see. “Was everything okay while we were gone?” she asked as James tugged on her jacket.

“James was fine,” he reassured, and Lucy smiled at the baby. “I read up on his grandparents.” Her eyes flashed up to meet his, a question in her eyes. He was vaguely aware of everyone shuffling out and the room getting quieter, which somehow made it feel more serious. “They aren’t a viable option.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded, her eyes dropping to the ground. The two of them stood there in silence for a few moments before Lucy whispered, “I’m sorry about last night, by the way.” He furrowed his brows in confusion as he tried to figure out what she did that would warrant an apology. “I shouldn’t have fallen asleep on you and kind of trapped you like that. It won’t happen again,” she said gravely, and a laugh escaped Flynn’s lips. “What?” she huffed, cocking her head to the side.

“Sorry, sorry,” he waved her off, still chuckling to himself. But it was too cute. She was apologizing for falling asleep on him, as if it was some huge inconvenience to his life and not the best night of sleep he had gotten in so long. “Lucy, it’s okay,” he reassured, though she was eyeing him skeptically. “I didn’t mind it at all, I promise. I would have woken you up if I did.”

“So, you didn’t wake up with a crick in your neck?” she asked.

Now that she mentioned it, his neck was a bit sore… but it was nothing compared to how horrible he felt after a night on that couch. “Yes, a little one,” he admitted, and she sighed. “But Lucy, it’s not a big deal. Don’t apologize. I slept better than I have in months, so it is fine.”

Her expression went from apologetic to confused very quickly, and he snapped his mouth shut before he said anything else. “Well…” she said, blinking rapidly. “Okay then.” And with that, she took James and started walking toward the hallway. Now, Flynn had yet another conversation with Lucy to overanalyze.

 

* * *

 

Flynn woke up moments before James started crying, like clockwork. He stumbled sleepily toward his room, finding Lucy already picking him up from the crib. They were getting quicker at settling James back down, having the whole late-night feedings routine down to a science.

When Flynn settled James back into the crib, he waited a beat before walking toward the door. “Flynn,” Lucy whispered, and he instantly missed the soft _Garcia_ from last night. He turned to look at her. Lucy was sitting at the edge of his bed, her eyes peering up at him. “I know you’re having a hard time sleeping on the couch.”

“I don’t mind,” he promised. If he was tired tomorrow, he could just nap during the day.

“Would you rather sleep in here?” she asked, and he shook his head.

“I’m not making you sleep on the couch,” he replied, and she bit down on her lip.

“No,” she sighed, brushing her fingers through her hair. “That’s not what I meant.” There was a frustration in her voice he couldn’t quite place, like he was missing something. It took him a beat too long to see exactly what he was missing, and when he did, his jaw went slack. “I just thought… I mean, we’re both adults, right?”

“Lucy,” he whispered, and her brown eyes softened at him. “I will be fine on the couch. You don’t have to… it’s okay.”

He turned toward the door again, ignoring the way his heart pounded at her offer. He wanted to say yes, to be close to her and James throughout the night. But he shouldn’t. “Garcia,” she called out, and he froze. He loved hearing his name fall off her lips. “I haven’t slept that well in a while either,” she admitted. Slowly, he turned to look at her. She wasn’t looking up at him, instead fixing her eyes on her fidgeting hands. “I think I’d sleep better if you…” she trailed off, and he’d kill to hear the end of that sentence. “Just, please?” she asked, her eyes finally meeting his.

He swallowed, his throat feeling too thick to form words. He only offered her a nod. The pounding in his ears grew louder as he saw her lips weakly twitch upwards. Quietly, she got back into bed, taking the spot closest to the wall. Flynn shut the light off before climbing in after her.

It was awkward at first, the two of them struggling to get comfortable while trying to stay as far away from each other as possible. He finally settled on his side, watching Lucy as she got comfortable on her stomach. “Good night,” she whispered.

“Sweet dreams, Lucy,” he replied, and her eyes fluttered open to look at him for a moment. He offered her a small smile, and slowly, her eyes fell shut again.

He watched her for a few minutes as her breathing evened, and it struck him how beautiful she was like this. So at peace, without a care in the world. He just wished she could be like this all the time. He wished there was something he could do to make that happen for her. Lucy deserved so much more than she was given.


	7. Her Heart Too Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, let's deal with some feelings now. Some angst, some life talks, some soft family moments... a good time. I'm thinking there will be three more chapters after this one, but don't hold me to it because I might come up with a fun epilogue idea. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for all the comments! I haven't gotten around to all of them (life has been crazy and job hunting is nuts y'all) but I will. Love y'all!

Last time Flynn woke up in this bed, he was panicked. Both Lucy and James had left the room while he was dead asleep, and his mind jumped to the worst possible scenario. When he found them, he calmed down immediately, passing the panic off as a residual reaction because of what happened to his own wife and child.

This morning, he woke up panicked again. Though, it was not because Lucy and James were out of sight. No, they were both exactly where they were supposed to be. James was still in his crib, likely asleep since he hadn’t started crying for someone to hold him. And Lucy was still in bed beside him, though notably closer than where she had fallen asleep.

Flynn’s heartrate picked up as he realized they were still here, not because this was anything to be panicked over, but because it was startling how normal it felt. How real it felt.

He settled back down on his pillow, fearful that if he got up he would wake one or both of them. When he turned his head to look at Lucy, half her face was covered by her dark hair. Though, he could make out her parted lips and just a hint of a snore.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how she admitted she slept better when he was there. It seemed ridiculous at the time, though he knew he slept better when he was in here with her and James. But the two of them hadn’t stirred all night, and Lucy was still fast asleep when she was normally up and drowning herself in coffee by now. Something fluttered in his chest at the thought that she rested easier with him around, like he was some kind of comfort or safety.

A small, barely audible cry broke him away from his thoughts, causing him to roll out of bed. He could hear Lucy stirring behind him as he checked on James. The baby was peering up at him as soon as he was in sight. “Shh,” Flynn murmured as he picked him up. He checked first to see if he needed a diaper change, but he was fine.

“He okay?” he heard Lucy sleepily mumble, her voice heavy from sleep. When he turned to look at her, she was sitting up, brushing her messy hair out of her face.

“Yeah, just waking up,” he reassured, pulling James into his chest as he rocked a bit. He had hoped that Lucy would just roll over and go back to sleep, but her eyes seemed glued to them. So, Flynn sat back down on the bed, leaning back so Lucy could see James.

“Good morning,” Lucy cooed with a sweet smile before leaning over to kiss James’ cheek. The baby was still sleepy, but he still seemed excited to be close to Lucy and Flynn again. “Do you want me to take him while you shower and get dressed?” she asked.

Right, they had to get out of bed. There was research to be done on James’ aunt, Beth. The two of them had things to do today, though none of them things his heart wanted to do. Everything they did to locate James’ family was just another step toward Flynn losing James.

“Can we just stay like this for a few more minutes?” he whispered. At least in here, time seemed to stand still. It was just him and Lucy, looking after the baby they both loved. In here, he could pretend this was his future as well, even though he knew the universe wouldn’t be this kind to him after everything he had done.

“Yeah,” she whispered, sliding closer to Flynn but keeping her eyes on James. Her head rested on his chest, much like it had the other night. He found himself powerless to keep from resting his chin on top of her head. It just felt right and comfortable when so few things in his life were.

 

* * *

 

Jiya was the one to stumble onto the photo of the Reynolds family. Flynn recognized Clara immediately, though this photo was taken a few years before he met her. He didn’t listen as Jiya pointed out Clara’s parents and her uncle in the background. He was too busy staring at the other teenage girl in the photograph, just a year or so older than Clara.

“Can’t Connor use his program to find her using this photo?” Wyatt asked. Flynn’s eyes flickered over to Lucy, who was biting down hard on her lip.

“Already on it,” he replied, typing away at the keyboard. “If there are other photos of Beth Reynolds out there, we will find her along with whatever her new last name is.”

“Good,” Lucy said, and to anyone else, she might have seemed perfectly okay. But he could see how her eyes kept darting back to their room where James was fast asleep, how her hands were fidgeting more than usual, how she was trying too hard to seem happy about the breakthrough…

“How long will this take?” Flynn asked.

“Not sure exactly. A few hours maybe,” Connor replied, waving him off. Flynn tucked his hands into his pockets as he walked away, leaving Connor to work in peace. He glanced over at Lucy, who seemed like she was purposefully avoiding eye contact with him. She threw herself into a conversation with Rufus and Jiya about logistics.

He waited around for a few minutes to see if she would come talk to him, but once she was done with Jiya, she took off after Agent Christopher. He let out a breath as she left the room, shaking his head slightly.

When he started to move toward his room, he caught Rufus looking at him strangely. He cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to say something, but Rufus just snapped his mouth shut and looked away. Flynn sighed as he continued toward his room.

He was at the door when he heard Jiya call out, “Hey, Flynn?” He turned, raising his eyebrows as she jogged up to him. “I was wondering if you were like umm… are you okay?”

He blinked a few times at the question, wondering if this had something to do with how Rufus was just looking at him. Jiya’s eyes were sincere as she looked up at him with a worried expression. “Of course,” he replied, forcing a smile.

“It’s just…” she mumbled, now looking down at her hands. “I know you and Lucy have gotten attached to James.”

“I think we all have,” he deflected, but Jiya wasn’t buying it. It was no secret that Lucy and Flynn were the most attached to the child, the only two people in this bunker foolish enough to forget that this was temporary. The two who were setting themselves up for heartbreak. “Thank you for worrying about me,” he remembered to say. It was a rarity for someone other than Lucy to worry about him, an odd comfort he probably should not get used to. “But maybe go check on Lucy.”

“I tried,” she muttered, her eyes drifting down the hallway where Lucy and Agent Christopher’s voices were coming from. “But she won’t talk to me. Maybe if you—”

“I’ll talk to her,” he reassured, and Jiya finally made eye contact with him again. He wasn’t sure how he would get Lucy to talk about it, since it was clear she was running from it. But he’d have to figure it out, for Lucy’s sake.

Jiya nodded before turning back, heading toward the Lifeboat. Flynn took a deep breath before opening his door.

James was still fast asleep in his crib, not even stirring when Flynn came in. He braced his hands on the crib, looking down at the sleeping child. This could be the last time he got to do this.

He shook his head, trying to jerk that selfish thought from his mind. James wasn’t his to lose. Flynn wasn’t his father. After all, Flynn knew he couldn’t be a real father again after everything he had done. But at least this time around, he knew how little time he had left. He knew to spend every moment of it he could right here with James.

Minutes passed, though he wasn’t sure how many, before he heard the door creak open behind him. “Still asleep?” Lucy whispered, and he nodded. She tiptoed over to the spot across from him, resting her hands on the edge of the crib as she joined Flynn in watching James sleep.

He stole a glance at her, noticing her tense jaw and sad eyes. “Lucy,” he whispered. She kept her eyes focused on James, actively ignoring Flynn’s worried voice. “Talk to me.”

She bit down on her lip, furrowing her eyebrows, but she still refused to look up. He kept his eyes fixed on her, waiting for her to speak, to tell him what was going on in her mind. But minute after minute passed, and she still wouldn’t say a word. He let out a sigh, letting his eyes drift back to James.

“You know,” she finally whispered, and he held his breath, “before all this, I had a whole timeline for how my life was supposed to go. Do you know what was next on my schedule?”

“Getting tenure,” he muttered, recalling that intense life plan from her journals. Lucy didn’t exactly leave a lot of wiggle room for herself, planning every single moment of the next ten years of her life. When he looked up at her, there was a small smirk on her lips.

“After that one, since I thought I was definitely getting tenure,” she said, nearly laughing. “I wanted to work on settling down. Start dating, eventually get married, have kids… you know, what normal people do. It was easy enough to see myself doing when I was normal.”

“You were never normal, Lucy,” he replied. She finally looked up at him, quirking an eyebrow up. After staring each other down for a moment, Lucy finally broke into a quiet laugh. He felt his own lips tug up into a smile, breathing a little bit easier for a brief moment.

“Then, Homeland Security dragged me to Mason Industries, I started traveling back in time, and I lost my sister. Now, I live in a bunker, all of Rittenhouse wants me dead, and my own mother left me to hang in Salem. It’s hard to think about those old plans as viable options when I’m trapped down here until we defeat them or until Emma kills me, whichever comes first,” she said, her eyes fixed on her hands.

“We are going to take down Rittenhouse,” he said seriously, his tone forcing her to look back up at him. “Emma won’t get the chance to hurt you.” Not on his watch. Flynn might not have control over losing James, but he could make damn sure he didn’t lose Lucy too.

She blinked a few times before jerking her eyes away, likely seeing something too intense in his gaze. “It’s just… so much had been going on, and I forgot all about the life I used to want. But then we found James, and I remembered how much I wanted this.”

“You could still have this one day,” he whispered. She swallowed, shaking her head as she kept her eyes firmly on James. “You could, Lucy.”

“Says the man who thinks he can’t ever be a father again after what he has done to take down Rittenhouse?” she said, her eyes flashing up to meet his. He stood up a bit straighter, his jaw tense as he stared at her. “Why could I have this one day when you say you can’t? What about what I’ve done?”

“Lucy,” he warned while keeping his voice quiet enough to not disturb James. But Lucy couldn’t possibly compare herself to him. He did unspeakable things to try to get his family back. He was the man who shot Lincoln, after all. Lucy had crossed a few lines, but she would never become what Flynn has. She was too good, her heart too kind.

“Garcia,” she said back, cocking her head to the side. He dropped his head between his arms, letting out a sigh. He couldn’t argue with Lucy about this without waking the baby, which was frustrating. And if they left the room, who knows how many of their friends in the bunker would overhear or weigh in? “I just,” she sighed. “I just… I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”

He jerked his head up, looking at her with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to ask her how she saw him when he heard James start to stir.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Lucy cooed as she reached in to pick up James. “You’re okay,” she reassured, getting him settled against her chest. Flynn crossed over toward them, his heart skipping a beat when James’ little hand reached out toward him. He took the hand, pressing kisses to it as he stepped closer to Lucy.

When he looked over at Lucy, there was a determined look on her face. “You have too much love left to give to say you can’t have this again,” she said to him.  He opened his mouth to argue, though his throat felt dry as he struggled to find the words. “You can’t expect me to believe that you couldn’t be a father again after I’ve watched you with James,” she said softer, this time leaning down to kiss James’ forehead as she tried to soothe him.

His mouth snapped shut, and she didn’t say another word. She just bounced James lightly, humming to him like she always did. He kept his eyes fixed on them, trying to memorize this moment so he could have this to hold onto… possibly one of the last moments of their little family all together.

He held his hands out, gesturing for Lucy to hand him over. She carefully placed him in his arms, her hand still resting on James’ back as the child rested his head on Flynn’s chest. “I know that I could be a father again, Lucy,” he admitted, keeping his eyes downcast. “But I’m terrified to be, especially since I’m about to lose another child.”

It was the first time he spoke those words aloud, the terrifying confession that had been echoing in his head since they first brought James to the present. He didn’t think he would ever confess this to anyone but himself, especially since he had been alone for so long. But he felt safe here with Lucy, a feeling he hadn’t had in years.

“We aren’t losing James,” Lucy whispered, leaning into Flynn’s side. Without thinking, he snaked his free arm around her, resting his hand on her waist. “We are helping him go home. We are making sure that he has the longest, happiest life. This is how we take care of him, right?”

His jaw clenched as he turned his head to look at her. Her brown eyes were wide as she looked up at him, genuinely asking the question, asking for his reassurance. He nodded silently, agreeing that this was the right thing to do, though it felt impossible.

“This is going to break my heart, Lucy,” he whispered.

“I know. Mine too,” she replied, tucking herself a bit closer to him. He rested his head on top of hers, keeping his eyes on James as he fought to keep his eyes open. “But we’ll take care of each other, right?”

Before he overthought it, he pressed a quick kiss toward the top of her head before turning back toward James. Lucy let out a contented sigh, a sound that put Flynn back at ease. “We will,” he promised, though he wasn’t sure he was the kind of man who could help Lucy recover from this, unsure if he was the person she needed for comfort. But he would do his best to become that man for her.

A soft knock at the door startled Lucy out of the embrace. It wasn’t until she pulled away that he realized how intimate they just were, how his lips had pressed a kiss to her hair or how she melted into him.

When Lucy opened the door, Rufus stepped in quietly. “Is James okay?” Rufus asked, eyeing the child. Flynn fought not to roll his eyes. Out of the three of them, James was the most okay. The jury was still out on Flynn and Lucy.

“Yeah, just trying to get him back to sleep,” Flynn replied. Rufus looked down at his feet, shuffling them like he did when he was nervous.

Rufus opened his mouth to speak before slamming it shut again. Lucy cleared her throat, cuing for Rufus to get on with it. He swallowed before saying, “I found Beth.”


	8. Chivalry Isn't Dead Yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hurts, guys. It really does. I promise I have a beautiful happy ending planned for them, but first we gotta get through the hurt part of the hurt/comfort.

Beth Reynolds became Beth Anderson after marrying Jeffrey Anderson, a wealthy only child from Pennsylvania. Jeffrey lived into his fifties, Beth outliving him by about two decades. They had one daughter several years into their marriage, one who went to school and married her college sweetheart.

Rufus had found where they lived, the exact address. All they had to do was take James into the Lifeboat, and he could be with his real family within a day. It was the best outcome they could have hoped for… which made Flynn feel even worse about his heartbreak. Luckily, Agent Christopher insisted this should wait until morning, giving him and Lucy one last night with James.

They took turns rocking him and whispering to him before putting him in the crib, neither one of them keen on saying goodnight just yet. But after Flynn put James down, the two of them wordlessly crawled into bed. He lied on his back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to convince himself to sleep. He needed a full night of sleep for tomorrow. But his mind wouldn’t settle down. Everything would be different when he stepped out of the Lifeboat tomorrow. He would be different. But there was nothing he could do about it.

He was jerked out of his internal monologue by the sound of Lucy crying quietly into the pillow. “Lucy,” he whispered, and she pushed back her dark tresses to look up at him, eyes red with tears. “Come here,” he sighed, extending his arm out to her.

She swallowed, unsure if she should. He bit down on his lip, looking down for a moment. As much as he told himself he was here with her to comfort _her_ , he knew that wasn’t the whole truth. He needed her comfort more desperately than she needed his.

He braced himself for her to roll away or to not want his comfort, but she surprised him by sliding across the bed toward him, letting Flynn wrap his arm around her as she tucked into his chest. “I don’t know if I can do it,” she whispered, shaking her head into his shirt.

“I know,” he murmured into her hair, letting his hand rub up and down her back as she heaved into his chest. He could feel his own eyes tear up as his chest tightened, his only comfort being Lucy. “I feel like I’m going to fall apart,” he admitted. It wasn’t the same as losing his family. He knew that nothing was happening to James. But there was still a loss on his part. The loss of James, the loss of who he was to James, of who he was to Lucy while James was here.

“He won’t remember us,” she sighed.

“I know,” he choked out. Flynn rested his cheek on the top of her head, listening to her jagged breath as she tried to soothe her own crying. His fingers absently combed through her soft hair, not sure what else he could do to make this hurt less for them. So, he just held her.

At some point, she did drift off to sleep, snoring quietly into his shirt. He kept a firm hold on her, trying to comfort himself into finally falling asleep, but with no success. He wasn’t sure how long he lied there, reciting what he would have to tell Beth and Jeffrey tomorrow, but it was long enough for James to wake up again.

As Lucy woke up, he gently nudged her back onto her pillow so he could get to James. By the time he had the infant in his arms, Lucy was already out the door to make his bottle. They fell into their normal routine, hardly saying a word as they got James settled again. But when it was time to put him back in the crib, neither of them moved.

“Could we just—”

“Yeah,” he whispered, letting Lucy get settled in the bed before he handed her James. When he climbed in beside her, she slid over to settle against his chest, giving him a better view of James. He reached over to hold James’ small hand, his heart warming when the baby wrapped his whole hand around his finger.

Flynn felt guilty when he thought about how happy he would be if James stayed. How he would happily spend the rest of his life doing this with Lucy. He wanted that future, and that fact ate away at him because it wasn’t what was right for James.

He felt Lucy’s eyes on him and finally diverted his attention from James to see her peering up at him. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“You know what’s wrong,” he sighed.

“Yeah,” she muttered, turning back toward James. “But this doesn’t have to be an ending. It’s a beginning for James, and it could be one for us too.” He blinked a few times, realizing the us meant the two of them separately and not what a big part of him hoped it meant.

He let out a sigh. “Maybe for you,” he whispered. Flynn had used up his new beginnings already. He had a chance with Lorena, he had a chance when Lucy gave him that journal, and he had this one when Lucy got him out of prison. Once James would gone, all Flynn would have is the need to take down Rittenhouse. He didn’t know what his life would look like once that happened, what kind of future he could have. But he knew what kind he couldn’t have. “I can’t be a father again, Lucy.”

“That’s not what I was talking about,” she sighed. He looked down at James again, watching him fight to keep his eyes open. The baby wanted to watch them, to stay with them just a few moments more. “Garcia?” she whispered, and he glanced over to see her peering up at him again. “We’ll still be a family after James has gone home, right?” Her voice was shaky as she asked the question, her eyes faltering a bit.

He pulled her closer into his chest, whispering, “Of course,” right into her ear. She leaned her cheek against his chest, letting out a shaky sigh.

“Good. I can’t lose you too,” she murmured so quietly he barely heard her.

 

* * *

 

“I’ll wait by the Lifeboat,” Rufus said when they found the house. “I think this is something you two need to do alone.” Flynn glanced over at Lucy to make sure she was okay with it, and she just nodded in response, not removing her eyes from a fussy James.

Flynn nodded at Rufus before turning toward the house, letting his hand rest on Lucy’s back as the approached it. It was larger than Clara’s home, more like a mansion in comparison. If they were here for any other reason, he could probably ask Lucy about how this home compares to others at in 1926 and she’d light up and tell him everything he could possibly want to know on the subject.

He held his hand out for her as they ascended the steps, letting out a sigh of relief when she actually took it. But once they were feet away from the door, Flynn froze. “Garcia,” Lucy whispered. He glanced over at her before looking down at James, and he felt like he was going to throw up. But this was his last moment with James before he was with his real family, so Flynn took a deep breath and leaned over to press a kiss to James’ forehead. Lucy mirrored his goodbye, sniffling as she pulled back and Flynn knocked on the door.

When Jeffrey answered the door, Flynn recognized him immediately. There were dozens of photos of him and Beth, and Flynn had been staring at all of them, trying to make sure that these were the right guardians for James. “May I help you?” Jeffrey asked.

“Mr. Anderson, I presume?” Flynn asked, and he nodded. “My wife and I were friends of your wife’s sister.” Jeffrey’s face fell immediately, confirming that they had indeed gotten the news about the fire.

“Come in,” he murmured, holding the door open for them. “Would you ask Beth to come downstairs?” he whispered to one of the servants passing by. When he turned back to face them, he gestured for them to follow him into the parlor. They sat in there in awkward silence as Jeffrey seemed to struggle with what to say. “Were… were you close with Clara?” he asked.

“I hadn’t known her for long,” Lucy answered. A woman came rushing downstairs, looking nearly identical to Clara but just a bit older.

“Darling,” Jeffrey greeted her, taking her hand, “This is…?”

“Garcia Flynn,” he answered, standing up to greet her. “And this is my wife, Lucy.”

Beth studied them both for a moment, a question clearly on her lips. Neither of them looked like people who would be friends with her little sister. They were both too old to be peers, and Beth wouldn’t have heard of either of them. “And is this your son?” she asked, gesturing to the child in Lucy’s arms.

“No,” Lucy said, looking to Flynn with panicked eyes.

“This is James, Clara’s son,” he explained, and Beth’s eyes went wide. “Lucy and I have been taking care of him since the fire while we tried to find you.”

Beth’s lips parted as she looked up to her husband with wide eyes. “I didn’t…” she stuttered out before turning back to look at the baby. “I didn’t know she had a son. We haven’t spoken in…” Jeffrey’s hand went to her back, soothingly rubbing it as she composed herself. “May I?” she asked, gesturing for Lucy to hand him over.

His eyes were glued to Lucy’s pained expression as she settled James into his aunt’s arms. When he glanced over at Beth, her eyes lit up as she looked at the child. “He looks just like her,” she murmured to her husband, who was looking over her shoulder with a tender expression.

Flynn stepped toward Lucy, taking her hand in his as a silent offer of comfort. She squeezed his hand gently, though she didn’t look at him. Her eyes were fixed on them, James’ real family.

“We believe that Clara would have wanted you to look after him,” Flynn said. Beth swallowed, keeping her eyes on the baby in her arms as she nodded. She glanced over at her husband, who of course, nodded as well. And as he watched the two of them fuss over the child, he recognized the same connection that he and Lucy felt when they first encountered him. James would be loved here, and that was really all they needed to know.

 

* * *

 

The tears were stinging in his eyes as they walked away from the house, his heart pounding, his stomach in knots. Lucy hadn’t let go of his hand since they left James, and he had no intention of letting go of hers either. He was scared to look at her, though. Afraid it might break his heart even more to see her as broken as him.

But when Lucy froze just when they were out of sight of the house, Flynn had to stop and look at her. It was the same look from last night when she cried into her pillow, only this time she knew she didn’t have a few more hours left with him. He was gone, now. Her cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes red, her lip quivering. And without a word, she barreled right into his chest, sobbing into his coat. He wrapped his arms tight around her, cradling the back of her head with his hand.

He buried his face into her shoulder, giving himself permission to let go as well. They wouldn’t have this kind of peace back in the bunker. There would be too many questions and Jiya wanting to talk about it and Agent Christopher trying to comfort them… when really, all Flynn and Lucy wanted was to cry.

So, he held her, and they cried without uttering a word. They rocked each other in that clearing, ignoring the snow falling around them or the fact their toes were freezing because Connor Mason didn’t consider the weather when picking out their footwear. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, though if it were too long, Rufus would come find them and realize what was wrong.

Lucy was who pulled away first, frantically wiping away her tears with her sleeve. Flynn remembered the handkerchief in his pocket and offered it to her. She rolled her eyes before taking it. “Why do you even have that?” she giggled, using it to dab around her eyes.

“It’s 1926. Chivalry isn’t dead yet,” he joked, and she threw her head back in a tearful laugh. A thankful smile tugged at lips, just relieved to see a moment of happiness for Lucy. She deserved so much more than all of this. She deserved that silly, hyper-organized life she told him about, where she already has tenure and is settling down with some nice man and having a family of her own. All he wanted was for her to have that, but he didn’t know how to give that to her. He only knew that he would be completely lost without her.

She handed the handkerchief back to him, her smile melting back into the sad expression from before. “Rufus is probably worrying about us,” she murmured before turning away. He followed after her, falling in step with her as he reached for her hand again. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt Lucy squeeze it instead of pulling away.

After a few minutes more of walking, they found Rufus and the Lifeboat. “Did everything go okay?” he asked, and Lucy just nodded in response. Rufus hopped into the Lifeboat as they walked up, getting everything ready for the trip back.

“Let me help you,” Flynn said before Lucy tried to climb up into the Lifeboat in that dress. She glanced up at him with a strange expression on her face, and he furrowed his brows in confusion. Then, Lucy pulled him in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her tiptoes to manage it. His mind was so flooded with questions about what prompted it that he wasn’t paying enough attention to notice Lucy pressing a kiss to his cheek until after it happened. And when he finally registered what was happening, his mind went completely blank.

Lucy pulled away, a slight blush on her cheeks… though that might be from the cold air. “Aren’t you going to help me up?” she asked. He blinked a few times as his mind caught up. He cleared his throat before stepping toward her to lift her up into the Lifeboat.

He fell into a strange haze as he got himself into the Lifeboat after her, vaguely aware of Lucy and Rufus talking around him. All he could focus on was the spot on his cheek that Lucy Preston just kissed and how he could still feel her lips on his skin.

“Flynn,” Rufus snapped, and he shook his head.

“What?”

“The door,” Rufus groaned, and Flynn mumbled his frantic apologies as he remembered to shut the door. He fell back into his seat and fumbled with the seatbelt.

“Do you need help?” Lucy asked, and he just shook his head as he got the final buckle clicked. His eyes met hers when he finally looked up, and she had that same strange look on her face again, the one she had right before she kissed his cheek.


	9. Little Family of Two

Flynn lied on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling and counting its tiles. He didn’t have any tears left in him. Those were left back with Lucy in 1926. He was exhausted after the horrible day he had, but he couldn’t fall asleep.

The others tried to comfort him when he stepped out of the Lifeboat. Agent Christopher said all the right things. Jiya gave him an extremely awkward hug. Connor tried to pat his shoulder but thought better of it. And Wyatt, while still wary of Flynn, offered him a quiet nod, a silent understanding.

It was weird to have them all try to ease his pain, as if they were his friends. It was even weirder that they felt like they were his friends, that part of him was touched they were there for him. They were mostly there for Lucy, of course, but they attempted to help him too.

It was strange in the same sense that it was strange he had come to think of this bunker, more specifically this room, as his home. It wasn’t the same as before he went back to 1926. Connor and Jiya had moved the crib out of his room while he was gone. Lucy wasn’t in here, instead trying to sleep on that couch again. It was the room that had started to feel like home, just empty now.

He began counting the tiles again, fairly certain that he missed one, when he heard his door creak open. He tilted his head back, seeing Lucy quietly shut the door behind her. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

“Mhmm,” she murmured, tiptoeing toward him. He slid over as soon as he realized what she wanted, and Lucy didn’t say a word as she crawled into bed beside him. Once she was lying down, her wide eyes met his. There was six inches between them, simultaneously too little and too much distance. He settled onto his side, and her eyes didn’t leave him. She sucked in a shaky breath, the noise almost deafening compared to the silence from before she came in here. He could feel his body start to relax now that she was here, now that he wasn’t all alone. “You would tell me if you didn’t want me in here, right?” she whispered.

“I would,” he replied. “But I feel better when you’re in here, so I don’t see that happening.” The bed creaked as Lucy turned on her side, facing him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head no, her eyes dropping to his chest as she furrowed her brows. “There isn’t anything to talk about. Last night, James was here with us. And now he’s back home,” she whispered. His eyes drifted past her, absently looking to where James’ crib was before remembering it was gone. “The crib is still here, just in storage,” she said, apparently reading his mind.

“It’s not like we need it anymore,” he muttered, jerking his eyes back to Lucy, who was pressing the creases out of the pillow case.

“You and I don’t, but Jessica is pregnant,” she said, her voice breaking a bit. He reached out to grab her hand without thinking, and her eyes flew up to meet his. He would have pulled away, but her hand relaxed in his, turning over to interlace her fingers with his. “I’m okay,” she promised, though he knew she was putting up a front. But Jessica and Wyatt’s behavior started to make more sense. Jessica’s constant questions about the baby. Wyatt’s apprehension to be near James. Their general distancing from everyone else.

“That can’t be easy with how things are with Wyatt—”

“That’s not why it isn’t easy,” she interrupted. He shut his mouth as he awaited her explanation, keeping his eyes on their joined hands. Flynn had never noticed how small her hand was compared to his before. “I’m happy for them. I am. But I’m about to watch them start their family when we just lost ours.”

It was the _we_ that caught him the most off guard, hearing Lucy refer to them as a unit. Not quite the team he had imagined when he first read her journal. And when he saw her bottom lip start to quiver as she fought to keep up her stoic front, he couldn’t take the distance between them anymore. He pulled her toward him, letting out a relieved breath when Lucy tucked herself into his chest like before.

“I really want to be happy for them,” she murmured into his shirt. He tucked his chin on top of her head, securing her against him.

“I know,” he reassured. And he did. It was hard to be happy for someone who had what you wanted. He didn’t want to think about how long they’d be in the bunker with Wyatt and Jessica, just how many of those happy milestones they would have to witness, ones they never got to have with James. It wasn’t quite jealousy, not as bitter as jealousy at least. Because Flynn knew how magical it felt to become a father, and he, despite his personal issues with the guy, wanted that for Wyatt. Lucy wanted Jessica and Wyatt to get their old lives back, for Wyatt to be happy. It was just going to be torture for them to see it after what happened today.

He absently played with the ends of her hair as she buried her face into his shirt, relieved that he still had Lucy. She pulled away so quickly once they got off the Lifeboat that he feared whatever this was ended back in 1926. But she came back to him, and the kiss she left on his cheek 92 years ago was still etched into his skin and he couldn’t make any sense of it.

“You know, Rufus found him,” Lucy whispered after a few minutes. She tilted her head back to look up at Flynn.

“James?” He knew that Connor and Rufus wanted to look for him but hadn’t heard anything else on the subject. “Is he still alive?”

“No. Passed away about six years ago,” she replied, and Flynn could feel his face fall in reaction. But it was good news. James Anderson lived to 86, meaning he and Lucy took him to the right people. Flynn just wished he could see him again. “I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t stop worrying about him, so I woke up Rufus and made him find James.” A loud chuckle escaped Flynn’s lips unexpectedly as he tried to imagine Lucy waking up Rufus. “I’m being serious, why are you laughing?” she tried to ask sternly, though her giggle at the end betrayed her.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he replied, covering his mouth with his hand. But when he looked at Lucy, the heartbroken look in her eyes were gone for a moment. She was trying to be annoyed with him for laughing despite her smile betraying that illusion. He loved seeing that smile. It was far too rare a sight, and all he wanted was to get her to smile more. “Just… you really woke up Rufus?”

“You would have done the same thing,” she huffed, pushing his chest playfully.

He caught her hands before she could do it again. “I would have let the man sleep,” he smirked. “Now, tell me what else he found.”

She blinked a few times, suddenly remembering the serious tone of their conversation. “It’s not a lot. More about his kids than him.”

“He had kids,” Flynn realized, and the smile came back onto Lucy’s lips.

“Three little girls,” she told him, and he could feel a smile tug at his lips too. He settled onto his back and Lucy curled into his side, detailing everything she had learned about James’ life after they took him home. Flynn let his eyes fall shut as he listened to her, visualizing the happy life James found for himself.

 

* * *

 

Lucy and Flynn kept a book of everything they found on James and his family. Rufus started finding photos and wedding announcements, printing them out and handing them over as soon as he did. It became a hobby of theirs, putting together the pieces of how James’ life went. The older photos were harder to find, though in the few they found of him he looked like the spitting image of his parents. There were dozens of newer photos, thanks to his children and grandchildren’s Facebook accounts. James seemed to be there for every birthday party, soccer game, and graduation. And he seemed to be incredibly happy.

The more he and Lucy worked on this, the less he felt the pang of loss in his chest. There were still nights where they crawled into bed early and just cried. They both were in tears when they found an old Facebook post from his oldest daughter where she told the story of how James proposed to his wife. They clung to each other a little bit tighter when a photo of him back when he was a toddler surfaced. There were still moments where it hurt that they had to miss these parts of his life. But it was getting easier each day.

They’d end their days with Lucy propped up against his chest, flipping through the book they had put together. Sometimes, they’d talk about him. Other times, he’d quietly look over her shoulder. But the night would always end the same: with Lucy curling into him and pressing the creases out of his shirt as she tried to drift off to sleep. It was the part of the day he looked forward to the most. Just the two of them, quiet but together. No Rittenhouse, no rushing to the Lifeboat, just them.

He loved her. It wasn’t a dramatic realization or anything. He was pretty sure he loved her before they found James. But Flynn didn’t know when it happened exactly. It was just there, lurking around for who knows how long, waiting for the world to quiet down enough for him to process it. Maybe it was the journal, the insight into her thoughts and memories and dreams that started the fall. Maybe it was because she was determined to see the good in him, even after everything he had done. But it didn’t really matter what started this. He just loved her, pure and simple.

He hadn’t told her, of course. He hadn’t so much as kissed her anywhere but the top of her head and once, albeit drunkenly, on the cheek, which he was still overanalyzing. He had no plans to tell her, though she likely already knew. There wasn’t a person in this bunker who didn’t know, who didn’t notice how fiercely protective he was over her on missions, who didn’t see the way he looked at her, who didn’t know that he was in the best mood first thing in the morning after waking up with her. But he wasn’t going to say the words out loud. She was happy right now, and he didn’t want to do anything to stop that. It wasn’t like he needed anything more than what he had right now with her.

So, he kept it to himself, quietly thinking it to himself whenever she flopped onto their bed with the book. The words floated in and out of his thoughts as she settled against his chest, her eyes softening at the very first photo of James they found.

“Do you think Beth and Jeffrey told him about us?” she asked one night, her fingers lingering over a family photo after the Anderson’s daughter was born.

“Probably,” he whispered back. “Not much, though. We were only there an hour.”

Lucy turned the page, and he barely made out her small smile when she saw James’ engagement announcement in the local paper. “He really was happy,” she murmured. She stayed on that page longer than usual, though she seemed to be lost in thought instead of looking at it.

“Lucy?”

She tilted her head up to look at him, her eyes soft. “I think he would have wanted us to be happy too,” she told him.

He opened his mouth to point out that he was happy, before realizing what she really meant. She was talking about the future, which was something Flynn avoided thinking about. He didn’t know what his would look like. He only knew the present where he and Lucy were a unit, a team, a little family of two. He was happy right here, and Lucy was too. But that didn’t mean Lucy would always be happy right here with him. “He would,” Flynn agreed.

“Garcia?” she whispered, her eyes wide as she stared up at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he promised, and it wasn’t technically a lie. At this exact moment, nothing was wrong. He loved Lucy and he still had Lucy. Everything else was a concern for another day. He turned his head back toward the book, ignoring the way her eyes stared at him.

“Garcia,” she said, sterner this time. He swallowed before turning his head toward her again, her gaze now too strong to look away from. He tried to say something, anything, but the words couldn’t come out. He just looked at her with parted lips, trying to come up with something that would reassure her that he was fine.

Lucy shut the book, placing it on the bed beside Flynn’s thigh, before turning so she could look at him better. Her brows were furrowed as she looked up at him, her lips parted as if she were going to say something. But she didn’t say anything either. She was completely silent as she reached up to cup his cheek, her fingers warm against his skin. She didn’t make a sound when he reached up to cover her hand with his own, which had become a reflex at this point, but her eyes softened and a smile tugged at her lips. Those three words wove in and out of his thoughts again. She had to know by now how he loved her, how he adored her, how his heart has been in her possession for so long.

“Lucy, I—”

She didn’t let him finish the sentence. Instead, her hand pulled his face down toward hers. One second, he was fighting back those words and the next he was drowning in her kiss. Her lips were softer than he expected. Far more cautious than he would have thought, especially given that she pulled him toward her. But as soon as he kissed her back, the hesitancy left her lips as the kiss grew harder, more urgent.

It was Lucy who pulled away first, leaving Flynn breathless as he rested his forehead against hers and shut his eyes. His lips were still so warm, still tingling from the touch. “Garcia,” she murmured. He kept his hand just below her jaw, his thumb tracing circles into her skin as his mind caught up to the rest of him. “You’re happy here with me, right?”

“So happy,” he promised.

“And we can keep being happy? Like the kind of happiness that James found?” she whispered. He opened his eyes to look at her, seeing the real question behind her eyes.

“Yes,” he swore. Her face softened at his response as she let out a relieved breath… as if he wouldn’t do whatever it took to make her happy. This time, he kissed her. She relaxed against him, humming happily against his lips as she kissed him back.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> epilogue coming up next!


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this fic, guys. I normally don't write for this fandom, so this has been a kind of scary but exciting experience for me. All the love y'all have given me has really been appreciated, so thank you!

So far, Garcia Flynn hated Cleveland. And 1955. But mostly Cleveland. Larger cities were easier to disappear in. Smaller ones were easier to get out of. But with his luck, there were witnesses when he took out one of Emma’s guys, and he and Lucy had been on the run for the better part of the last hour.

Wyatt and Rufus were still at the high school, making sure that _The Pied Piper of Cleveland_ documentary went off without a hitch and that Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and a myriad of other influential artists didn’t get their throats slit by Emma Whitmore. They’d meet them at the Lifeboat when it was over, since there was no way in hell Flynn could show his face near that school again.

He and Lucy were tucked into an alley, ducked down so no one could see them. He kept threading his fingers through her hair, a habit of his for when he was nervous. It wasn’t like this was the only close call. Compared the hell they went through to get Rufus back, this was nothing. But he was on edge because Lucy was here beside him, which was arguably the least safe place she could be considering how many people in this city were looking for him.

“We’ll be fine,” she reassured, taking his hand in hers. He smiled down at her before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. In the year since they took James back to 1926, they grew even closer. Lucy officially moved into his room in the bunker, as it became common knowledge that they were together. The two of them were nearly inseparable, only going on missions without each other when they absolutely had to. It was during the War of 1812 after he had been shot that he confessed he loved her. He was told that she said it back immediately, though he has no memory of that. But he did hear her confession 206 years later when he woke up from surgery.

Lucy tilted her head up to look at him, batting her eyes as she expected a proper kiss. A smirk formed on his lips, and he leaned down to kiss her. “We’ll hide just a bit longer before making a run for the Lifeboat,” he promised, knowing Lucy wasn’t that happy about hiding in an alley in Cleveland.

She tucked herself against him again, humming contentedly into his coat. He rested his head atop hers, taking a deep breath. The cops would have kept running in the direction Flynn was running before pulling Lucy into the alley. In just a few minutes, the ones who knew what he looked like would be on the other side of town.

“Distract me,” she whispered.

“Hmm.” Flynn tilted his head back, thinking through where exactly in James’ timeline they were. “James is still outside Cincinnati. His oldest should be in kindergarten.”

“His wife should be about four or so months pregnant with their second,” Lucy added in. After a beat, Lucy caught him staring at her.

Last night, the two of them got into an argument. It wasn’t an argument they hadn’t had before. In fact, they had this same one pretty regularly. It was about when they would consider starting a family. Flynn had always said that it should wait until after Rittenhouse is dealt with. The explanation was simple enough: when Rittenhouse was gone, he could be sure that he could keep his family safe.

But he also saw Lucy’s side… that it could take years to take down Rittenhouse. She would point to Jessica and Wyatt who, despite that huge breach in trust, were now thriving with their little family. Lucy argued they could find a way to make it work, that Rittenhouse has already taken enough from them both. There were ways to ensure their family’s safety from Rittenhouse. They both wanted a family and didn’t want to put their life on hold for this mission… but Flynn wasn’t yet convinced now was the time.

They resolved it like usual. It wasn’t hanging over them or anything. But the mention of the pregnancy reminded Flynn of it, and it put a familiar pang in his chest when he thought about another family moving on with their lives while he and Lucy felt stuck.

“I think they have a dog now,” he said, changing the subject. “It was just Lizzie in the photo with the puppy, right?”

“I think so,” Lucy sighed, thinking back over it. “But Jane could have just been an infant at the time of the photo.”

“Possibly,” he conceded. “We’ll settle that one at home. I think we should be good now.” He pushed himself up before holding his hand out to her. She pulled herself up and sucked in a deep breath. She kept her hand in his as he pulled her out of the alley, both of them ducking their heads as they walked down the street.

They made it down two blocks before Lucy froze. “Lucy,” he whispered, narrowing his eyes at her. But she didn’t look at him. Her eyes were fixed on something across the street. He whipped his head around to see what she was looking at, bracing himself for the worst.

It was James. He looked identical to the man they saw in the pictures. He was on one knee, tying Lizzie’s shoelaces. “He’s supposed to be in Cincinnati,” Lucy said.

“I guess the family took a trip to Cleveland,” Flynn replied, watching James clearly trying to explain how he was tying the shoe to his daughter. But she stopped paying attention as soon as her pregnant mother stepped out of the store and started talking rapidly to her. James just shook his head as he finished tying her shoe, chuckling to himself.

Flynn squeezed Lucy’s hand, feeling his heart swell as he watched them. James dusted himself off as he stood up before reaching over to grab his daughter’s hand. “Garcia, we have to go now,” Lucy warned. For a moment, he feared a cop had spotted them, but then he remembered the real reason for her concern. They couldn’t cross paths with James in history. Something little they did in 1955 could alter his happy little timeline. And neither of them wanted anything to change for James, not when he had the happiest life.

He took off with Lucy, nearly powerwalking down the street. As they turned the corner, he spared one more glance at them, seeing that Lizzie’s other shoe came untied and James was bent over tying it.

He played the scene he saw over and over in his head as he and Lucy made their way back to the Lifeboat. The way the parents smiled at their daughter. How happy James was. The simplicity of that moment.

He had known it for a while, but seeing it was something else entirely. James really did have the life he and Lucy dreamed for him. His story began with such a heartbreaking tragedy, and he made something beautiful out of his life.

And Flynn couldn’t deny how badly he wanted that for himself and for Lucy.

They beat Rufus and Wyatt back to the Lifeboat, which gave them both a moment to catch their breath. “We saw James,” Lucy whispered, a smile forming on her lips. “That was really him.”

“I know,” he grinned, pulling her into his chest so he could kiss the top of her head.

“And they all looked so happy,” she continued, pulling back, on the verge of tears. “I always knew they were, but…”

“Seeing it for yourself makes it feel more real,” he finished her thought, and she nodded quickly. “Lucy, you were right.”

“About what?” she asked, blinked up at him.

“We shouldn’t wait any longer,” he blurted out. But he meant it. Seeing James again… it felt like a sign. “Life is short and you never know what will happen next, and I don’t want to waste this second chance we have by waiting around.”

“Really?” she whispered, her voice so quiet he barely heard it. When he nodded, she asked, “Do you really mean that?”

“Yes, Lucy, I really—”

He was cut off by Lucy throwing her arms around his neck, dragging him down for a frantic kiss. He tried kissing her back, but it was too messy with how big they were smiling. She was giggling happily against his lips as he pulled her tight against him, both of them so excited about this.

“You know,” Rufus said, jerking their attention away from each other to see him and Wyatt watching them with amused expressions on their faces. “I distinctly remember a conversation I had with Flynn where he told me they were just friends.”

“Oh, so he lied to you?” Wyatt teased.

“At the time of that conversation, the statement was true,” Flynn huffed as Lucy giggled into his coat. “Did you let Emma kill Elvis?”

“Elvis is just fine,” Wyatt snorted. “My arm, not so much. Thanks for asking.”

“Your arm can be fixed,” Flynn snorted as he opened the door to the Lifeboat. “But my mother loved Elvis. So, if something happened to him, you and I would have a real problem.”

When he glanced over at Lucy, she was rolling her eyes at him. But the smile was still on her lips. “We saw James today,” she told them before giddily sharing every detail of it with them.

The story continued as they all climbed into the Lifeboat, and Flynn couldn’t take his eyes off her as she described how happy that little family was. One day, it would be their little family that she was talking about with this much love. And he couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos always appreciated. I'm on tumblr and twitter as @asroarke.


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